Failure to honour undertaking – unsatisfactory conduct

A Lawyers Standards Committee (Committee) found (now former) lawyer Wayne Revell breached multiple rules in the Lawyers and Conveyancers Act (Lawyers: Conduct and Client Care) Rules 2008 (Rules) in failing to honour an undertaking he had given to the New Zealand Law Society Te Kāhui Ture o Aotearoa in the…

Lawyer breaches confidentiality restrictions applying to Lawyers Standards Committee decisions – unsatisfactory conduct

A Standards Committee (the Committee) found that a lawyer (Mr L) was in breach of the confidentiality restrictions that apply to standards committee decisions after he disclosed information to journalists relating to a decision concerning the complainant (Mr Q).

Accepting and retaining payment from an employee as reimbursement for a financial penalty imposed by a Standards Committee is unsatisfactory conduct

A Standards Committee (Committee) has determined that a lawyer (Mr A) engaged in conduct that tends to bring the profession into disrepute by accepting a payment from his former employee (Ms Z) to reimburse him for a fine and costs previously imposed on him by a Standards Committee. The Committee…

Breaches of fundamental duties in multiple matters

A Standards Committee (Committee) found former lawyer Jesse Seang Ty Nguy, who was the principal of former Auckland law firm Jesse & Associates, guilty of unsatisfactory conduct in five separate determinations. Four of those determinations related to breaches of fundamental duties of lawyers in relation to holding money on trust.…

Refusing to comply with Judge’s order is unsatisfactory conduct

A Lawyers Standards Committee (Committee) found Nelson Lawyer Sue Grey engaged in unsatisfactory conduct under the Lawyers and Conveyancers Act 2006 (Act) by refusing to stand down when ordered to do so by a judge. While the Committee accepted Ms Grey had been genuinely motivated to assist the self-represented defendant,…

Persistent unwanted attention towards employee is unsatisfactory conduct

A Standards Committee (Committee) found a lawyer guilty of unsatisfactory conduct pursuant to s 12(b) of the Lawyers and Conveyancers Act 2006 (Act) for persistent unwanted attempts to pursue a relationship with an employee. An internal investigation had found the lawyer had breached his firm’s sexual harassment policy.

Lawyers must keep accurate time records and communicate with clients prior to undertaking work when changes to fees are expected

A Standards Committee (Committee) has determined a lawyer’s practices and fees rendered in respect of a “straightforward” and “conventional” property relationship matter breached rr 9.1, 3.4, 7.2 and 10.9 of the Lawyers and Conveyancers Act (Lawyers: Conduct and Client Care) Rules 2008 (Rules).

Lawyer purports to contest will without having proper instructions – unsatisfactory conduct

A lawyer purported to act for siblings to contest a will based only on instructions from a parent of the siblings. One of the siblings complained about the lawyer’s conduct and a Standards Committee (Committee) found the conduct to be unsatisfactory in multiple respects. The Committee fined the lawyer $5,000…

Standards Committee reminds profession to be cautious when considering employing suspended practitioners and entering commission-based arrangements with non-lawyers

A Standards Committee (Committee) has considered a complaint about a law firm which employed a suspended lawyer on a contractor basis to provide non-legal services.

Lawyers should maintain appropriate professional boundaries with colleagues at all times

A Standards Committee (Committee) determined that a senior lawyer’s inappropriate comments made to a junior member of staff about her physical appearance during a telephone conversation breached rule 10 of the Lawyers and Conveyancers Act (Lawyers: Conduct and Client Care) Rules 2008 (rules) and that this amounted to unsatisfactory conduct.…