Exposed: 20 lawyers found guilty of misconduct in South Australia in 2024
Misleading a client, misappropriating trust money and failing to pay tax, these lawyers have been found guilty of professional misconduct. See who ended up in hot water.
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They’re the people you call if you get yourself in trouble, want legal advice or need representation.
But sometimes it’s lawyers themselves that find themselves in hot water.
In 2024, 20 solicitors practising in South Australia were found guilty of professional misconduct or were struck off the roll for poor behaviour.
One lawyer was struck off after being found guilty of misappropriating trust money, misleading a client and failing to pay tax and employee superannuation, while another was sanctioned for making false and dishonest statements in an affidavit and for poor drafting of documents.
SCROLL DOWN FOR THE FULL LIST OF LAWYERS WHO ENGAGED IN MISCONDUCT
Another lawyer was found guilty of professional misconduct in relation to several breaches, including having either maintained, or commenced and maintained, nine applications or appeals which amounted to an abuse of process; and making submissions or communicating with the court is a discourteous, intemperate and scandalous manner.
The responsibility for ensuring misbehaving lawyers are held to account falls on the Legal Profession Conduct Commissioner Anthony Keane.
Each year the commissioner’s office investigates hundreds of complaints made against lawyers to determine if they are guilty of professional misconduct or unsatisfactory professional conduct.
Unsatisfactory professional conduct is when a lawyer is deemed to have not met the level of competence and diligence that a member of the public is entitled to expect from a solicitor.
Professional misconduct is a more serious type of misconduct and is applied to lawyers who are found to have engaged in substantial or consistent unsatisfactory professional conduct, or their conduct would support a finding that they are not a fit and proper person to practise law.
Some examples of misconduct include intimidating or bullying behaviour, charging excessive legal costs, deliberately or recklessly misleading a client or a court, mishandling trust money, not complying with instructions or causing unreasonable delays in progressing matters.
The commissioner has the authority to issue a reprimand, order an apology, have a lawyer redo the work or pay for work to be redone, require practitioners to undertake training, or issue a fine.
All findings of professional misconduct must be published on the commissioner’s publicly-available disciplinary register, while the publication of unsatisfactory professional conduct findings are published at the discretion of the commissioner.
These are the lawyers who were found guilty of professional misconduct, or were struck off the roll, in 2024.
Kim Louise Shepherd
Law firm location: Meadows
Found guilty of: Professional misconduct on September 5, 2024.
Details of conduct matter: Making false and dishonest statements in an affidavit. Poor drafting of documents below an acceptable professional standard.
Disciplinary action taken: Reprimanded and entered into a professional mentoring agreement.
Robert Bruce Harrap
Law firm location: Adelaide
Struck off the roll: July 26, 2024
Details of conduct matter:Harrap was convicted of one count of conspiracy to improperly exercise power held in public office and two counts of deception.
Disciplinary action taken: Struck off
John Mark Fitzpatrick
Law firm location: Walkerville
Found guilty of: Professional misconduct and unsatisfactory professional conduct on June 20, 2024.
Details of conduct matter: Failing to respond to information requests and notices issued by the Legal Profession Conduct Commissioner; failure to lodge low fee earner declaration in breach of undertaking; failure to respond to Law Society requests for documentation relating to mandatory continuing professional development requirements; delay without reasonable excuse; failing to respond to lawyers acting for former client; beaching a Supreme Court order; breaching a condition on his practice certificate; multiple breaches of the Australian Solicitors Conduct Rules and duties owed to client; dishonesty; failing to complete mandatory continuing professional development requirements; and making a false and misleading statement.
Disciplinary action taken: The Conduct Commissioner recommended that proceedings against Mr Fitzpatrick be commenced in the Supreme Court.
William Chau
Law firm location: Adelaide
Found guilty of: Professional misconduct on June 11, 2024.
Details of conduct matter: Failure to pay a previously ordered fine; failure to complete mandatory continuing professional development and mandatory accredited law practice management course.
Disciplinary action taken: Reprimand.
Tania Jane Furler
Law firm location: Hove
Found guilty of: Professional misconduct on May 24, 2024.
Details of conduct matter: Extensive and systemic breaches of Trust accounting requirements over six years to the end of 2022.
Disciplinary action taken: Conditions placed on practising certificate, fined $2000 and reprimanded.
Michelle Louise Petty-Sampson
Law firm location: Hyde Park
Found guilty of: Professional misconduct on July 29, 2024.
Details of conduct matter: Trust account breaches and regulatory noncompliance.
Disciplinary action taken: Fined $3000, conditions placed on practising certificate and reprimanded.
Roxanne Marie McCardle
Law firm location: Bundaberg, Queensland.
Found guilty of: Professional misconduct in Western Australia.
Details of conduct matter: Nine instances of either maintaining or commencing and maintaining applications or appeals which were an abuse of process; numerous instances of making submissions or communicating with the court in a discourteous, intemperate and scandalous manner; misreading from a transcript in a manner that had potential to mislead an appeal court where the practitioner was recklessly indifferent to that possibility; swearing and filing an affidavit that was false in a material respect and being recklessly indifferent as to whether the affidavit was false and whether the appeal court would be misled by it.
Disciplinary action taken: Struck from the SA roll
Christian Hugo Cifuentes
Law firm location: Adelaide
Found guilty of: Professional misconduct on April 18, 2024.
Details of conduct matter: Failure to keep Trust account and records in compliance with the Legal Practitioners Act and Regulations.
Disciplinary action taken: Conditions placed on practising certificate; reprimanded; undertake training, education or counselling.
Anna Katarzyna Jones
Law firm location: Goolwa
Found guilty of: Professional misconduct on October 9, 2024.
Details of conduct matter: Practising law while in breach of a condition on her practising certificate in relation to the completion of an accredited law practice management course.
Disciplinary action taken: Fined $4000 and reprimanded.
Atanas Michael Radin
Law firm location: Adelaide
Struck off the roll: March 25, 2024.
Details of conduct matter: Misappropriating Trust money; misleading a client and the Law Society; failing to pay employee superannuation and failing to pay tax.
Disciplinary action taken: Struck off.
William David Owen
Law firm location: Rose Park
Found guilty of: Professional misconduct on November 28, 2024.
Details of conduct matter: Practising law while in breach of a condition on his practising certificate in relation to the completion of an accredited law practice management course.
Disciplinary action taken: Fined $2500 and reprimanded.
Paul Gordon Crawford
Law firm location: Adelaide
Found guilty of: Professional misconduct on November 26, 2024.
Details of conduct matter: Practising law while in breach of a condition on his practising certificate in relation to the completion of an accredited law practice management course.
Disciplinary action taken: Fined $2500 and reprimanded.
Amanda Jane Ryder
Law firm location: Adelaide
Found guilty of: Professional misconduct on November 20, 2024.
Details of conduct matter: Practising law while in breach of a condition on her practising certificate in relation to the completion of an accredited law practice management course.
Disciplinary action taken: Fined $3000 and reprimanded.
Phillip David Gallasch
Law firm location: Elizabeth South
Found guilty of: Professional misconduct on October 25, 2024.
Details of conduct matter: Practising law while in breach of a condition on his practising certificate in relation to the completion of an accredited law practice management course.
Disciplinary action taken: Fined $2500 and reprimanded.
Russell John Cole
Law firm location: Christies Beach
Found guilty of: Professional misconduct on October 9, 2024.
Details of conduct matter: Practising law while in breach of a condition on his practising certificate in relation to the completion of an accredited law practice management course.
Disciplinary action taken: Fined $1000 and reprimanded.
Mark Trevor Jackson
Law firm location: Belair
Found guilty of: Professional misconduct on October 9, 2024.
Details of conduct matter: Practising law while in breach of a condition on his practising certificate in relation to the completion of an accredited law practice management course.
Disciplinary action taken: Fined $4000 and reprimanded.
Adam Peter Gaite
Law firm location: Adelaide
Found guilty of: Professional misconduct on September 16, 2024.
Details of conduct matter: Practising law while in breach of a condition on his practising certificate in relation to the completion of an accredited law practice management course.
Disciplinary action taken: Fined $4000 and reprimanded.
Witold Stanislaw Gladys
Law firm location: Port Adelaide
Found guilty of: Professional misconduct on August 20, 2024.
Details of conduct matter: Practising law while in breach of a condition on his practising certificate in relation to the completion of an accredited law practice management course.
Disciplinary action: Fined $2000 and reprimanded.
Donald McRae Bentley
Law firm location: Brighton
Found guilty of: Professional misconduct on August 9, 2024.
Details of conduct matter: Practising law while in breach of a condition on his practising certificate in relation to the completion of an accredited law practice management course.
Disciplinary action taken: Fined $4000 and reprimanded.
Mark William Henderson
Law firm location: Adelaide
Found guilty of: Professional misconduct on August 1, 2024.
Details of conduct matter: Practising law while in breach of a condition on his practising certificate in relation to the completion of an accredited law practice management course.
Disciplinary action taken: Fined $4000 and reprimanded.
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