City Beat Confidential: Michael Kemp banned from practising law

Bankrupt Brisbane legal eagle Michael Kemp has had his practising certificate withdrawn in the wake of his firm’s collapse.

Kemp Law director Michael Kemp

It’s game over in the near term for Brisbane legal eagle Michael Kemp.

The now-bankrupt personal injury lawyer won’t be able to offer his services in this state for the next five years, after the Queensland Law Society stripped him of his practising certificate yesterday.

“The society considers Mr Kemp is no longer a fit and proper person,’’ a spokesman told us.

The long-expected move follows the ­collapse of his main company, which traded as Kemp Law and went down earlier this year owing $8.15 million.

One of his biggest creditors, lender LawFinance Ltd, then won court orders last month to personally bankrupt him over a $2.1 million debt.

Michael Kemp

The QLS had previously appointed receivers over Kemp Law, as well as its now-defunct successor Highland Law, and seized about 250 client files for distribution to other firms.

It also took control of the trust account holding client money in April and is now distributing those funds.

Kemp could not be reached for comment, and it’s unclear what’s next for a bloke who spent over 15 years in the city’s legal circles.

But the headaches aren’t over for Kemp, who once zipped around in a Lamborghini and has a family-controlled entity that still owns two luxury homes on Hope ­Island collectively worth over $2.5 million.

Glenn Franklin, the liquidator of Kemp Law Pty Ltd, told creditors in a report last month that he intends to recover about $335,000 that Kemp withdrew from the business in the eight months preceding its demise.

He alleged the company had likely traded while insolvent since last October, with its ­liabilities increasing by $2.7 million since then.