Stephen Warne on professional negligence, regulation and discipline around the world

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Entries Tagged as 'common law'

Legal plagiarism cases: a non-exhaustive review

February 24th, 2010 · 1 Comment

I did a plagiarism case before the Board of Examiners last year, and looked up the cases then.  My colleague Patrick Over also reviewed them for his prosecution on behalf of the Legal Services Commissioner of the plagiarist solicitor in Legal Services Commissioner v WJK [2010] VCAT 108, and cleverly found a case from the [...]

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Tags: Discipline · Legal writing · Misconduct · common law

Plagiarist solicitor suspended for 6 months

February 22nd, 2010 · No Comments

In Legal Services Commissioner v WJK [2010] VCAT 108, a sole practitioner who has written a legal text and published a number of articles succumbed to temptation when the pressures of life got to him and meant he did not have time to do a proper job of writing a 10,000 word research paper for [...]

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Tags: "disgraceful and dishonourable" · Discipline · Legal writing · Misconduct · common law

VCAT explores definition of professional misconduct at common law unconnected with legal practice

August 7th, 2009 · No Comments

In Legal Services Commissioner v RAP [2009] VCAT 1200, the Bureau failed to establish a charge of professional misconduct at common law against a solicitor in respect of conduct which occurred otherwise than in the course of, and unconnected with, legal practice.  (Another charge, not the subject of this post, succeeded.) The allegation was that [...]

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Tags: "disgraceful and dishonourable" · Criminal liability · Discipline · Ethics · Legal Profession Act · Misconduct · common law · litigation ethics · prosecutorial failures

Beak bribe boast bars barro

February 4th, 2009 · No Comments

Legal Services Commissioner v JDG [2008] LPT 17 is a shocking case in which a Queensland barrister was struck off after he lied when confronted by investigators with the true proposition that he had offered to pay a $50,000 bribe to a Magistrate or Crown prosecutor on behalf of a client.  He also took $59,000 [...]

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Tags: "disgraceful and dishonourable" · Discipline · Legal Profession Act · Misconduct · Negligence · Professional fees and disbursements · Striking off · Trust money · common law · trust monies

Solicitor gets three year break for multiple conflict findings

November 29th, 2008 · No Comments

In Legal Services Commissioner v DJMH [2008] VCAT 2301, Deputy President McNamara’s tribunal ordered the solicitor not to practice before 1 July 2011 for multiple findings of acting in the face of a conflict.  It is unfortunate that the reasons for decision do not allow an understanding of what was alleged.  It had something to [...]

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Tags: Discipline · Ethics · Misconduct · civil-disciplinary interplay · common law · concurrent duties · conflicts · duty and duty

Latest word on burden of proof in professional discipline ‘prosecutions’

August 30th, 2008 · 1 Comment

In this post, I just reproduce what Deputy President Dwyer said recently about the burden of proof, right to silence, and inferences which may be drawn from the fact of the exercise by a solicitor of the right to silence. He said it in the context of a hard-fought hearing into the conduct of Kylie’s [...]

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Tags: "disgraceful and dishonourable" · Discipline · Legal Practice Act · Legal Services Commissioner · Misconduct · Unsatisfactory conduct · VCAT Act · common law · procedure · prosecutorial failures · reckless disregard for rules · trust monies · wilful disregard for rules

Kylie’s one-time lawyer goes down, with a ‘disgraceful and dishonourable’ finding

August 28th, 2008 · No Comments

On 13 August 2008, Deputy President O’Dwyer found charges of misconduct at common law made out against Kylie Minogue’s one-time solicitor, the man towards the centre of the government’s Operation Wickenby investigation, Michael Brereton. See Legal Services Commissioner v Brereton [2008] VCAT 1723. Mr O’Dwyer found he had transferred more than $2.3 million of [...]

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Tags: "disgraceful and dishonourable" · Discipline · Legal Practice Act · Legal Services Commissioner · Misconduct · Trust money · common law · conflicts · duty and interest · prosecutorial failures

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 [...]

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Tags: "disgraceful and dishonourable" · Criminal liability · Discipline · Misconduct · Practising certificates · Striking off · common law · costs · mental illness · procedure · prosecutorial failures · trust monies

Solicitor who blatantly lied to clients for years keeps ticket

April 29th, 2008 · No Comments

Legal Services Commissioner v BH [2008] VCAT 687 is a case with terrible facts. A man died as a result of a crime. The family hired the respondent solicitor to act for them in crimes compensation applications. He lost the file some time into the second year of the retainer, but did [...]

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Tags: "disgraceful and dishonourable" · Discipline · Misconduct · common law · mental illness · negligence as disciplinary breach · prosecutorial failures

Two new cases from NSW

December 2nd, 2007 · No Comments

Here’s a 37,000 word long judgment in a professional negligence case against a solicitor which began in early 2000: Rebenta Pty Ltd v Wise [2007] NSWSC 1332. It does not discuss many issues of law. The reason one might want to look at it is that it is one of those rare cases where [...]

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Tags: "disgraceful and dishonourable" · Admission · Criminal liability · Discipline · Misconduct · Negligence · common law