E-Dealing certification process: lawyers’ duty to ensure certifications are true and correct

A Standards Committee concluded that a lawyer certified and signed a notice of claim instrument in circumstances where one of the certifications was not true and correct.  It determined that was unsatisfactory conduct. The Standards Committee ordered the lawyer to pay a fine of $4,000 and costs of $1,000.

Report From Court Registrar

A Standards Committee opened an inquiry into the conduct of a lawyer following a report from a court registrar.  Ultimately, with the lawyer not renewing his practising certificate and winding up his practice, the Standards Committee took no further action.

Knowingly providing false information

A Standards Committee has made a finding of unsatisfactory conduct against an employed lawyer for sending false and misleading information in a letter to option holders who had deposited option fees into the trust account operated by the employed lawyer’s firm. The letter was sent after the lawyer had released…

Discussions of sensitive issues with potentially vulnerable clients require careful management

A Standards Committee considered that a lawyer made an error of judgement in the way he discussed intimate material with his client. The lawyer discussed the material at length with the client (who said she had previously been sexually abused) in an unscheduled phone call after he had left the office. However,…