In Legal Services Commissioner v PT [2009] VCAT 1603, Senior Member Preuss decided that a failure to respond to a demand by the Commissioner for information in relation to a disciplinary complaint was unsatisfactory professional conduct rather than the more serious professional conduct, for several reasons including that ‘he [the respondent solicitor] admitted the factual circumstances alleged and he did not oppose the orders which I sought to make’. That is not a factor which has often expressly been taken into account in making the distinction, as far as I am aware.
See also:
- Suspensions which are not suspensions and orders which are not orders
- Summary judgment in a disciplinary prosecution?
- 60 days for referring pecuniary loss disputes to VCAT extendable
- Costs in disciplinary prosecutions under the Legal Profession Act 2004: excellent news for disciplined solicitors?
- Lawyers withdrawing ‘guilty pleas’ in disciplinary prosecutions at first instance and on appeal