Regulators are investigating Michael Kemp, the bankrupt former Brisbane lawyer
Disgraced former Brisbane lawyer Michael Kemp, who was bankrupted and then struck off this year, is trying to get back in the game with a new personal injury business but regulators are investigating.
City Beat
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It beggars belief but a bankrupt former Brisbane lawyer, who was only struck off in June, is back in the legal arena.
The brazen move by Michael Kemp has already sparked complaints and triggered an investigation by regulators.
After getting stripped off of his practising certificate, the disgraced one-time high flyer with a taste for flash cars and luxury homes has set up a website to promote his new business called Kemp Help.
It’s billed as a no-win/no-fee “personal injury assistance’’ referral service that redirects clients to outside law firms.
“At Kemp Help, we ensure you are dealing directly with Michael and his team who become intimately knowledgeable on your case,’’ the kemphelp.com.au site says.
“We know legal talk can feel overwhelming when you don’t know what’s going on. Which is why we’re people focused and explain your claim process in a jargon-free manner.”
A disclaimer buried at the bottom of the site tells readers that “Kemp Help are not a registered law firm’’.
A Queensland Law Society spokeswoman confirmed Friday that multiple complaints about the business are under investigation and matters have been referred on to the Legal Services Commission.
One of the law firms allegedly getting numerous referrals, Gold Coast-based Alexander Law Group headed by sole-director Shane Alexander, is also under scrutiny, she said.
An affidavit, included in one of the complaints, alleges that a former senior executive at Kemp’s now-defunct practice Kemp Law pressured a client to sign a release allowing their case to continue under the auspices of Alexander Law Group.
The QLS seized control of about 250 Kemp Law files in late May and dispersed them back to the clients, along with trust moneys.
It’s understood the complaints allege potential violations of the state’s Legal Profession Act, particularly those sections referring to “disqualified persons’’.
Neither Kemp, who spent more than 15 years as a legal eagle in Brisbane, nor Alexander returned calls seeking comment Friday.
Kemp’s law firm collapsed with debts of $8.15m in February.
One of Kemp’s biggest creditors, lender LawFinance Ltd, then won court orders in May to personally bankrupt him over a $2.1m debt covered by a personal guarantee.
A month later the QLS banned him from practising law for five years, saying he was “no longer a fit and proper person’’.
Because of his bankruptcy, Kemp cannot serve as a director of Kemp Help. It’s unclear who is acting in that role or who owns the company.
Meanwhile, property records show Kemp sold another one of his Hope Island mansions this month for an undisclosed price. He had acquired it for $1.77m in 2017.
Back in January he pocketed $1.71m from the sale of a luxury home in the same enclave.
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