Lawyer Mark Phillip Boys expresses regret after conduct breach

A Tweed Heads solicitor, who was acquitted of groping a woman more than a decade ago, has been reprimanded for breaching solicitor conduct rules and has faced disciplinary action. Here’s what we know.

Mark Phillip Boys is the principal solicitor at MBP Lawyers at Tweed Heads.

A Tweed Heads solicitor has apologised after an email error that resulted in a reprimand for breaching solicitor conduct rules.

MPB Lawyers principal solicitor Mark Philip Boys faced disciplinary action this week over a communication error after he copied in another lawyer’s client when he should not have.

“I made a mistake, I fell on the sword,” Mr Boys said.

Mr Boys was found to have breached Rule 33 of the Australian Solicitors Conduct Rules 2015 which states a solicitor shall not communicate about the subject of representation with a person the lawyer knows to be represented by another practitioner.

The Council of the Law Society of New South Wales have found Mr Boys had displayed “unsatisfactory professional conduct” and he received a disciplinary reprimand.

“I didn’t think it was communicating with a client,” Mr Boys told this masthead.

“I’m really, really sorry and I wish I hadn’t done it.”

Since the reprimand Mr Boys has given an undertaking that he will “never ever copy a client in again with any communication”.

It is not the first time the solicitor has been under scrutiny for breaching professional conduct.

In 2011, he was in court accused of groping a woman in his office, but successfully appealed the conviction.

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