The Commissioner succeeded on all seven charges against the respondent solicitor: six charges of professional misconduct and one of unsatisfactory professional conduct were found proved by consent, resulting in reprimands on all charges, total fines of $7,500, a six-month practising certificate suspension wholly suspended for 12 months, eight additional CPD points, and costs of $18,000. Facilitating the appointment of a 'dummy director' to an insolvent company shortly before liquidation — to shield the outgoing director from consequences — constitutes professional misconduct under s 297(1)(b) of the Legal Profession Uniform Law as conduct justifying a finding the practitioner is not fit and proper. Preparing and deploying false or misleading documents (a fabricated invoice and a non-genuine file note) similarly constitutes professional misconduct under s 297(1)(b), even where the documents were not filed with a court or provided directly to the regulator. Failing to advise an existing client of the risks of accepting a dummy directorship, and instead taking instructions from the client's spouse, constituted a substantial failure to maintain a reasonable standard of competence and diligence under s 297(1)(a). Significant mitigating factors — a decade's passage since the conduct, guilty plea, no intervening disciplinary findings, altered practice profile, psychological impact, and character evidence — justified a suspended suspension rather than actual exclusion from practice, notwithstanding the dishonesty involved.
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