Dr Skin Cynthia Weinstein admitted as a lawyer after being banned from medicine
Ex-celebrity cosmetic surgeon Dr Skin was banned from medicine, accused of botching patient makeovers. Now she’s been admitted as a lawyer and people aren’t happy.
Disgraced ex-cosmetic surgeon ‘Dr Skin’, who was banned from medical practice over accusations of botching makeovers, has now been admitted as a lawyer.
Cynthia Weinstein, a former celebrity plastic surgeon who repeatedly faced court and tribunal hearings for professional misconduct over two decades, now works as a junior lawyer after she was handed a practising certificate last year.
According to the Victorian Legal Services Board’s register of lawyers, her areas of expertise include civil litigation, family law and wills and estates, while she claims to specialise in “dispute resolution” on LinkedIn.
The notorious Ms Weinstein, who was a TV regular in the 1990s promoting cosmetic surgery, was banned from medical practice in 2010 as she faced a hearing over botched procedures.
At that time, she handed in her scalpel and promised never to renew.
Her decision followed a 10-year battle with health authorities after she was subjected to operating bans in 2000 over claims of other bungled treatments.
Despite the ban, she repeatedly returned to courts and tribunals in the 2010s and as recently as 2021 over allegations of performing illegal surgeries and practising while unregistered.
During a magistrates’ court hearing in 2016 where she pleaded guilty to masquerading as a qualified doctor, she asked not to have a conviction recorded because it could quash her dream of becoming an admitted lawyer.
That day finally came in August 2023 before the Supreme Court’s Chief Justice Anne Ferguson after Ms Weinstein was granted a compliance certificate from the Victorian Legal Admissions Board.
A member of the public, who contacted the Herald Sun about the admission, said he found it “deeply troubling”.
“Cynthia Weinstein’s history of being banned from medical practice raises serious questions about her professional conduct and suitability for any regulated profession, let alone the legal profession,” said the man, who did not wish to be named.
“The legal field demands the highest standards of integrity, and it is disheartening to learn that an individual with a questionable track record has been granted a license to practice law.”
But Victorian Legal Admissions Board chief executive Deborah Jones said “we do thoroughly check every application” and that “a conviction doesn’t preclude you from being admitted”.
“Certainly her application took a lengthy time to consider over a number of years,” she said.
Mrs Jones said applicants were obligated to make disclosures that could go to an assessment of their character and whether they were a fit and proper person.
While she couldn’t go into the particulars of the admission, Mrs Jones said an executive committee of high powered barristers and solicitors - including chair David Habersberger KC and deputy chair Bernard Teague AO who are both former Supreme Court judges - may review a file and pull an applicant in for a meeting or a hearing.
Once a person is found “fit and proper”, they’re granted a compliance certificate by the admissions board, then admitted in court, where members of the public can object within 14-days.
Mrs Jones said she could “easily see how the public could say, ‘How can you admit (certain) people?’ ... (but) they haven’t heard the evidence”.
Founding partner of RRR Lawyers, Prakash Raniga, confirmed that Ms Weinstein had worked with him as a paralegal but had left for another firm some months ago.
“Full disclosure was made (to the admissions board), I was made aware of the difficulties that she’d had in the past,” he said.
Mr Raniga said he “didn’t have any problems with her doing (her job) properly”.
It’s understood that Ms Weinstein currently works for Brendan Rothschild Legal Group.
Ms Weinstein and Mr Rothschild did not respond to an inquiry via the law firm.
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Originally published as Dr Skin Cynthia Weinstein admitted as a lawyer after being banned from medicine
