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

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Entries Tagged as 'reckless disregard for rules'

Disciplinary charges and intentional wrongdoing

October 29th, 2009 · No Comments

Update, 4 December 2009: see now Legal Services Commissioner v Madden (No 2) [2008] QCA 301.  What the Queensland Court of Appeal said there about Walter’s Case, the subject of this post, is reproduced at the end of the post.
Original post: Does a lawyer’s Bureau de Spank have to say in a charge in a [...]

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Tags: Discipline · Misconduct · Unsatisfactory conduct · natural justice · procedure · prosecutorial failures · prosecutors' duties · reckless disregard for rules · trust monies · wilful disregard for rules

Rondo alla Turca blinged à la max

October 13th, 2008 · No Comments

Fazil Say is Turkish, like the rondo. Arkady Volodos is Russian. Mozart was Austrian.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_Whp1kWZ8Y

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Tags: reckless disregard for rules

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

Solicitor reprimanded for letting conveyancer steal monies from his office account

June 16th, 2008 · 1 Comment

Legal Services Commissioner v WP [2008] VCAT 983 was a guilty plea. A sole practitioner and ex-cop shared offices with a Turkish conveyancer named Dervish. The solicitor practised as a sole practitioner under the name “Thomasz and Dervish”, even though Mr Dervish’s only connection with the legal practice was that he shared premises [...]

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Tags: Discipline · Misconduct · Sharing receipts with non-lawyers · reckless disregard for rules

Tariff up for not responding to demand for information by Bureau de Spank

August 24th, 2007 · No Comments

In Legal Services Commissioner v MG [2007] VCAT 1491, the lawyer failed to respond to letters demanding a written response to a complaint by another lawyer. The Commissioner wrote on 18 January 2007, 16 February 2007, 23 March 2007 and 1 April 2007. In other words, a complaint, quite possibly lodged last year, [...]

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Tags: Discipline · Legal Profession Act · Misconduct · Unsatisfactory conduct · reckless disregard for rules

Misconduct charge no. 21 against Victorian silk stayed as abuse of process

April 16th, 2007 · No Comments

The latest and possibly last chapter in the tribulations of Victoria’s most senior female silk is to be found in M v VCAT [2007] VSC 89, a decision of Justice Mandie. The barrister was charged on 4 July 2005 with 24 charges of misconduct, and ended up after a hearing of the first [...]

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Tags: Abuse of process · Discipline · Ethics · Legal Practice Act · Misconduct · amendment · duty to court · judicial review · litigation ethics · procedure · prosecutorial failures · prosecutors' duties · reckless disregard for rules

Epic battle re trust monies results in misconduct finding against barrister

August 20th, 2006 · 1 Comment

Victorian Bar Inc v DAP No. 6 [2006] VCAT 1226
A barrister banked $50,000 into his personal account, arguing that it was a “retainer” and not monies held on account of future fees. VCAT found that it could not have been a retainer because that is a modest fee paid to a barrister to prevent them [...]

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Tags: Discipline · Professional fees and disbursements · reckless disregard for rules · trust monies

Workcover case trust transfer costs solicitor $10,000

March 28th, 2006 · No Comments

Law Institute v SA [2006] VCAT 442
On 21 March 2006, Mr Butcher found a solicitor guilty of three counts of unsatisfactory conduct (maximum fine of $1,000 and fine of $500 for taking fees out of workers’ compensation settlement, and $500 for admitted breach of the costs disclosure rules under s. 86 of the Legal Practice [...]

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Tags: Discipline · Misconduct · Professional fees and disbursements · Unsatisfactory conduct · reckless disregard for rules