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

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Entries Tagged as 'Striking off'

The right to silence in disciplinary and striking off hearings

August 31st, 2008 · No Comments

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 [...]

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Tags: Criminal liability · Misconduct · Practising certificates · Striking off · procedure · prosecutors' duties

Burden of proof in actions to cancel a practising certificate or strike a lawyer off the roll of practitioners

July 21st, 2008 · No Comments

In Stanoevski v Council of the Law Society of NSW [2008] NSWCA 93, Justice of Appeal Campbell, with whom Justice of Appeal Hodgson and Acting Justice of Appeal Handley agreed, has provided important guidance on who bears which burdens of proof in cases where a legal regulator seeks to cancel a practising certificate or have [...]

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Tags: Admission · Striking off

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

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 [...]

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Tags: Criminal liability · Legal Services Commissioner · Striking off

Former Marsdens partner struck off the roll of solicitors in NSW

November 9th, 2007 · No Comments

Here's a decision from the NSW Court of Appeal, apparently exercising original jurisdiction, in which a former partner of Marsdens in Campbellfield was struck off the roll by consent for receiving secret commissions of $180,000 amongst other things, including deceiving the investigation into that conduct: Prothonotary of the Supreme Court of NSW v Alcorn [2007] [...]

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Tags: "disgraceful and dishonourable" · Criminal liability · Misconduct · Striking off

2nd edition of Professional Liability in Australia reviewed

October 18th, 2007 · No Comments

I was already a fan of the first edition of Judge Stephen Walmsley SC, Alister Abadee, and Ben Zipser's excellent Professional Liability in Australia, published by Thomson, and had been waiting for the new edition with interest. I got myself a copy the other day. It's good, and there are substantial additions since [...]

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Tags: Advocates' Immunity · Barristers' immunity · Book reviews · Causation · Discipline · Duties to third parties · Ethics · Fair Trading Act · Fiduciary duties · Forensic immunity · Legal Profession Act · Legal writing · Limitations of actions · Misconduct · Negligence · Professional regulation · Proportionate Liability · Retainers · Striking off · Uncategorized · Wasted costs · conflicts · defences · doctors · duties of confidentiality · legal professional privilege · two bites at the cherry

Court of Appeal sets aside unduly harsh outcome in gross overcharging prosecution

June 28th, 2007 · No Comments

PJQ v Law Institute of Victoria[2007] VSCA 122 is the part 1 of the last chapter in a story of good tactical plays characteristic of professional discipline specialist Sam Tatarka in the representation of a solicitor charged with gross overcharging, and applying trust monies to pay his fees without the appropriate paperwork. It sounds like [...]

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Tags: "question of law" · Discipline · Legal Practice Act · Misconduct · Professional fees and disbursements · Striking off · appeals · gross overcharging · mental illness · prosecutorial failures · wilful disregard for rules

So-called lawyer to the underworld fails in challenge to ticket non-renewal

June 26th, 2007 · No Comments

Melbourne's best known female criminal lawyer was convicted some time ago of contempt of court for refusing to answer questions on oath in a Supreme Court murder trial of her husband's murderers: as I reported here. She has sought review of that decision in VCAT, and sought judicial review from the Supreme Court as [...]

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Tags: Admission · Criminal liability · Legal Profession Act · Professional regulation · Striking off

Vic Supreme Court summarises VCAT's power to review practising certificate decisions

June 26th, 2007 · No Comments

In the matter of ZGW v Legal Services Board [2007] VSC 225, Justice Bell made some observations about VCAT's power to grant merits review of decisions about practising certificates made by the Legal Services Board, and the interrelationship of that power with the availability of judicial review:

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Tags: Admission · Criminal liability · Professional regulation · Striking off

Kansas Supreme Court on the rule against direct communication with opponent's clients

April 29th, 2007 · No Comments

The Supreme Court of Kansas yesterday published a judgment — In the Matter of E. Thomas Pyle, III — which is interesting on a number of fronts. The first is that Pyle was disciplined for writing a letter which criticised an adverse disciplinary ruling against him. The second is that he was disciplined for failing [...]

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Tags: Discipline · Striking off · litigation ethics