Auckland lawyer Cho Weon “Matthew” Yoo has been fined $3,500 by the New Zealand Lawyers and Conveyancers Disciplinary Tribunal after admitting a charge of negligence or incompetence in his professional capacity.

Mr Yoo has also been ordered to pay the New Zealand Law Society costs of $10,500 and to reimburse hearing costs of $2,021.

The prosecution arose after Mr Yoo was found to have breached the Lawyers and Conveyancers Act 2006 and the Lawyers and Conveyancers Act (Trust Account) Regulations 2008.

There were eight separate areas of default on his part, including a failure to keep proper trust account records. The Tribunal noted that Mr Yoo co-operated with the investigation and immediately responded to rectify his failures.

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