I have previously posted about the QC who took his computer into work at the DPP only to lose his career when the tech found child pornography on it. It was a bizarre story, and of course there was a twist which has become clear from the disciplinary decision in Council of the NSW [...]
Entries Tagged as 'Criminal liability'
The right to silence in disciplinary and striking off hearings
August 31st, 2008 · No Comments
Tags: Criminal liability · Misconduct · Practising certificates · Striking off · procedure · prosecutors' duties
Drug trafficking Melbourne patent lawyer to be sentenced
August 24th, 2008 · No Comments
The Age has reported the conviction for drug trafficking of a 41 year old church-going Melbourne patent lawyer with a Master of Laws after a shoe box containing about $170,000 in cash and $300,000 worth of the drug ice was found in her apartment. She is yet to be sentenced. It will be [...]
Tags: Criminal liability
Zarah wins
July 29th, 2008 · No Comments
Ms Garde-Wilson's back in business. In fact she never went out of business, since following the non-renewal of her practising certificate, she held a deemed practising certificate pursuant to the Legal Profession Act, 2004, s. 2.4.5(3) pending her VCAT merits review application. The assertion that she had ceased to be a fit and [...]
Tags: Criminal liability · Practising certificates · Professional regulation · regulators' duties
Law Institute seeks 50 year ban for 62 year old solicitor
July 11th, 2008 · No Comments
In Law Institute of Victoria v DSS [2008] VCAT 1179, the Institute sought in a misconduct prosecution an order that the solicitor not be allowed to handle trust monies for 50 years. Vice President Judge Ross described the submission as 'somewhat excessive'.
The solicitor had stolen $75,000 from his clients and out of his trust [...]
Tags: "disgraceful and dishonourable" · Criminal liability · Discipline · Misconduct · Practising certificates · Striking off · common law · costs · mental illness · procedure · prosecutorial failures · trust monies
Kylie's one-time lawyer before VCAT's Legal Practice List
July 9th, 2008 · No Comments
Update, 18 July 2008: Make that a $200,000, not $20,000, loan from rock impressario Michael Gudinski. I like the way he gave evidence to VCAT's Legal Practice List by mobile phone from a US Billy Joel concert. Leonie Wood's report for The Age is here.
Update, 15 July 2008: Apparently the Law Institute's trust account [...]
Tags: Criminal liability · Discipline · judicial review · trust monies
From the newspapers
July 5th, 2008 · 1 Comment
Friday is definitely law news day. The Australian and the Australian Financial Review both have several pages of law news of a Friday. I might try to bring to the attention of you readers articles of interest from both on a relatively regular basis.
First though, some things from not-Friday. ABC Radio National's The [...]
Tags: Criminal liability · Legal Services Commissioner · Striking off
Lawyer to gangland figures not guilty of alleged crimes
June 12th, 2008 · No Comments
The Crown entered a nolle prosequi on Tuesday on the charges of giving false evidence against Melbourne's best known female criminal lawyer, Z G-W. In other words, they dropped the charges before trial for want of a reasonable prospect of conviction. The key witness was unable to remember crucial evidence which the Crown [...]
Tags: Admission · Criminal liability · Practising certificates · prosecutorial failures
Child porn accused gets ticket back on strict conditions
May 17th, 2008 · No Comments
Almost 3 months ago, a 71 year old sole practitioner who has practiced for 28 years was charged with knowingly possessing child pornography and knowingly transmitting an image of a child having sex. He has not admitted the charges which remain to be tried. He is of course presumed innocent. Nevertheless, the [...]
Tags: Admission · Criminal liability · Discipline · regulators' duties
Megafirm partner who stole to make budget gets his ticket back after long holiday
April 26th, 2008 · No Comments
The latest application for review of a decision of the Legal Services Board decision not to grant a practising certificate was in the matter of DAP v Law Institute of Victoria [2008] VCAT 688. The 57 year old solicitor and former Melbourne Cricket Club Committee member was a property lawyer at one of Melbourne's [...]
Tags: Admission · Criminal liability · Legal Profession Act · Professional regulation · regulators' duties · trust monies
Once you've done your time, prior misconduct not an indicator of fitness to practise
April 4th, 2008 · No Comments
In JLL v Law Institute of Victoria Limited [2008] VCAT 456, a Box Hill solicitor who had paid only $5,000 of the $55,000 odd he owed under orders of the Legal Profession Tribunal was given a practising certificate by VCAT, overturning a decision of the Law Institute not to give him one on the basis [...]
Tags: Criminal liability · Discipline · Misconduct · Professional regulation · Unsatisfactory conduct · regulators' duties

