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

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Entries Tagged as 'trust monies'

Latest word on burden of proof in professional discipline 'prosecutions'

August 30th, 2008 · No Comments

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

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

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 [...]

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Tags: Criminal liability · Discipline · judicial review · trust monies

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 [...]

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Tags: Admission · Criminal liability · Legal Profession Act · Professional regulation · regulators' duties · trust monies

The barrister and the trust monies saga ends in 6 month holiday

November 25th, 2006 · No Comments

Update: 14 October 2007  The Court of Appeal refused leave to appeal, and the High Court refused special leave to appeal too, on 5 October 2007.
In Victorian Bar Inc v DAP, [2006] VCAT 2293 Judge Bowman, Tony Southall QC and T Harper suspended the barrister's practising certificate for 6 months and ordered him to pay [...]

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Tags: Discipline · Misconduct · costs · procedure · trust monies

Another unrepresented lawyer bites the dust in WA

October 19th, 2006 · No Comments

The lessons against self-representation in discipline cases are coming almost too thick and fast for me to digest them. Here is The West Australian's short article on the striking off recently of Vijitha De Alwis, a solicitor who played a part in a legal saga involving an attempt to deport a non-citizen Briton convicted of [...]

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Tags: Discipline · Professional fees and disbursements · Striking off · trust monies

Depressed partner who stole $275,000 gets suspended sentence

September 26th, 2006 · No Comments

R v G*rant [2006] VSC 235
A property lawyer who was a partner in a two partner, 3 office firm, became depressed and failed to lodge tax returns for 9 years. When the ATO cracked down on lawyers, he lodged the returns late, and became liable for about $200,000 in tax, interest, and penalties.
He stole from [...]

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Tags: Discipline · Fiduciary duties · mental illness · trust monies

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

Colourful barrister runs rings around the Bar's prosecutor, for a while anyway

April 5th, 2006 · 1 Comment

Update, August 2006: the end of the saga is to reported at this post. 
Original post: In Victorian Bar v DAP (Nos. 1 to 4) (Bowman, Southall QC, Harper) [2006] VCAT 294, the Bar got itself into a tangle in the prosecution of a barrister for what sounds like the relatively minor offence of taking monies [...]

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Tags: Discipline · natural justice · prosecutors' duties · trust monies