The respondent solicitor was found guilty of professional misconduct for forging another practitioner's signature on a legal document and certificate of advice, and was reprimanded, had his practising certificate suspended for three months, was required to complete two additional CPD points in ethics, and was ordered to pay $15,000 in costs. The Tribunal accepted the parties' jointly proposed penalty, applying the principle that agreed penalty submissions should not be lightly departed from where they represent an appropriate outcome. The Tribunal rejected the respondent's attempt to have the Tribunal disregard portions of a jointly signed Statement of Agreed Facts on the basis that they related to withdrawn charges, holding that a party cannot unilaterally depart from an agreed statement without leave. General deterrence was identified as the primary consideration, while specific deterrence was of limited relevance given the isolated nature of the conduct, the respondent's cooperation, and the lengthy regulatory process.
The full text is available to signed-in members.