Author adminPosted on Categories Legal profession, Liberty, Professional discipline 2 Comments on British barrister beats woke Bar Standards Board
“The ethos of service and duty that used to underpin so many professions often seems to have been replaced with a claim to moral leadership by the better-educated.”
Head, hand & heart: The struggle for dignity and status in the 21st Century David Goodhart, 2020, Allen Lane, p17
In 2021, British barrister Jon Holbrook was investigated by the Bar Standards Board (BSB) over a series of social-media posts. 17 were thrown out. It decided that one of the 18 tweets in question constituted a breach of professional conduct.
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Author adminPosted on Categories Criminal law, Legal profession, Professional discipline 1 Comment on Ipswich lawyer Cameron McKenzie struck off for extortion
Cameron McKenzie has been removed from the roll of lawyers after his conviction for extortion.
Extortion
In 15 January 2017, then Ipswich Mayor Paul Pisasale had a number of telephone calls with the complainant Xin Li falsely purporting to be a private investigator and demanding that the complainant pay a sum of money to Yutian Li, a woman the complainant had had a relationship with. Pisasale threatened to cause detriment to the complainant, including by having him subjected to court proceedings, being sued for $200,000, incurring costs of $20,000 in court, being subjected to the adverse publicity of court proceedings and being summoned to go to court.
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Author adminPosted on Categories Professional discipline 1 Comment on Reasons for Nicola Gobbo’s removal from the roll of lawyers published
Former Victorian criminal barrister Nicola Gobbo represented a number of high-profile clients during her career at the bar. It was later discovered that she had also been acting as a police informant, and was using confidential information obtained from her clients to assist police in obtaining evidence. This revelation sparked a royal commission in Victoria, and Gobbo’s evidence at the royal commission suggested her motivation for this extraordinary course of conduct was to feel valued.
Gobbo had not held a practising certificate since 2014.
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Author adminPosted on Categories Legal profession, Professional discipline 1 Comment on Nicola Gobbo aka Lawyer X removed from the roll of lawyers
Former Victorian criminal barrister Nicola Gobbo represented a number of high-profile clients during her career at the bar. It was later discovered that she had also been acting as a police informant, and was using confidential information obtained from her clients to assist police in obtaining evidence. This revelation sparked a royal commission in Victoria, and Gobbo’s evidence at the royal commission suggested her motivation for this extraordinary course of conduct was to feel valued.
Continue reading “Nicola Gobbo aka Lawyer X removed from the roll of lawyers”
Author adminPosted on Categories Legal profession, Professional discipline Leave a comment on James Loel stays on the roll after QCAT disciplinary decision
Queensland solicitor James Loel has avoided a strike-off order after it was found that he had engaged in professional misconduct on five occasions, and engaged in unsatisfactory professional conduct eight times.
The rehabilitation he had undertaken since the offending conduct and his acceptance of the conduct were significant factors which weighed in his favour.
The full decision can be accessed here: http://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/qld/QCAT/2020/326.html
Author adminPosted on Categories Industrial relations, Professional discipline 3 Comments on Bangalow lawyer loses appeal against successful sexual harassment suit Former solicitor Owen Hughes, who likened himself to “a sleek kangaroo” and novelist Jane Austen’s noble brooder Mr Darcy in Pride and Prejudice, has lost his appeal against a judgment for sexual harassment he perpetrated against an employee.
This blog had previously reported on the Owen Hughes sexual harassment case brought by a former employee of his law practice.
Junior/trainee solicitor Catherine Mia Hill began working with Owen Hughes’ Bangalow based law firm Beesley and Hughes Lawyers in May 2015. Soon after, Hughes offered to represent her in a mediation for her own family law matter, and she agreed.
A couple of months later, Hughes started his course of sexual harassment by sending Hill emails telling her that he thought she was attractive, and he wanted to be in a relationship with her.
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Author adminPosted on Categories Legal profession, Professional discipline Leave a comment on When the Solicitor-Barrister relationship turns sour
The distinction between solicitors and barristers is a traditional feature of English legal systems, including Australia’s. The main difference between the two today is that barristers specialise in court advocacy and are normally instructed by solicitors, who deal with clients directly, operate trust accounts and also do non-court work such as writing correspondence, conveyancing, preparing legal documents and handling estates.
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Author adminPosted on Categories civil litigation, Industrial relations, Professional discipline 4 Comments on Bangalow lawyer Owen Hughes successfully sued for sexual harassment A Bangalow solicitor’s sexual harassment of a single mum who worked for him has proven to be costly, and may well end his legal career.
This blog had previously reported on the Owen Hughes sexual harassment case brought by a former employee of his law practice.
Junior/trainee solicitor Catherine Mia Hill began working with Owen Hughes’ Bangalow based law firm Beesley and Hughes Lawyers in May 2015. The evidence showed that that he thought Hill was attractive, wanted to be in a relationship with her and that he communicated that to her. Hughes offered to represent her in a mediation for her own family law matter, and she agreed. Continue reading “Bangalow lawyer Owen Hughes successfully sued for sexual harassment”
Author adminPosted on Categories Criminal law, Judiciary, Legal profession, Professional discipline Leave a comment on Former Magistrate Bill Randall struck off for child sex abuse William ‘Uncle Bill’ Randall has been struck off as a lawyer following his convictions for numerous child sex offences.
William John Randall was admitted as a solicitor of the Supreme Court of Queensland on 9 June 1981. He never practised as a solicitor, and never held a practising certificate. He was however appointed a Magistrate in 1985 and served for a long time in the small claims tribunal until his retirement in 2016.
On 21 November 2017 he was convicted by a jury of a range of serious sexual offences committed against a child. The child was just five when the abuse started in 1990 at Randall’s home at Wynnum, on Brisbane’s bayside. It continued for almost 12 years, and the victim was 30 before he finally gathered the courage to tell police. Randall was initially sentenced to 9 years imprisonment but on appeal this was increased to 11 years imprisonment. He continued to deny his offending throughout and never showed any remorse. Continue reading “Former Magistrate Bill Randall struck off for child sex abuse”
Author adminPosted on Categories Industrial relations, Legal profession, litigation, Professional discipline 2 Comments on Law firm partner sued for sexual harassment
The legal profession gets rocked by a #metoo claim.
The partner of the firm has at a minimum acted unprofessionally in this case and the implications for his career could be serious.
