Mackay solicitor Peter Elliot Clark disbarred for ‘professional misconduct’

A Qld lawyer has been disbarred over his “significant failures” in dealing with a client including causing a five-year delay in a workers compensation case.

Former solicitor Peter Clark has been struck off the Queensland legal practitioner’s roll by the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

A Mackay lawyer has been disbarred for professional misconduct over his “significant failures” with a client, including causing a five-year delay in a case eventually rejected.

The Legal Services Commission brought three charges against Peter Elliot Clark, of Eureka Legal and then Strutynski Law, regarding alleged misconduct and incompetence, arguing that his name should“be removed from the roll”, a court judgment states.

Mr Clark had been a solicitor for more than 20 years when Edward Bell retained him in February 2015 for a case against WorkCover and subsequent appeal.

At one point the appeal was struck out because of Mr Clark’s lack non communication and he was then further delayed in filing the application to have it reinstated, a recent Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal judgment revealed.

The case was ultimately dismissed in March 2020 and in January 2022 the LSC began an investigation into Mr Clark’s conduct that included doing nothing in relation to the case for two years and eight months of that five-year time frame, the judgment stated.

It also revealed while Mr Clark was moving from Eureka Legal to Strutynski Law he was not monitoring his old mails and email, and missed important correspondence about Mr Bell’s case. He also failed to inform Mr Bell of the transition.

QCAT Justice Peter Lyons found these were “significant failures”.

In a sworn affidavit Mr Clark detailed a series of family health issues that erupted between 2015 and 2017, and switching firms, had impacted his handling of the case.

The judgment stated in a letter to the LSC Mr Clark wrote his “coping strategy was to compartmentalise problem files while attending to all other matters” - Mr Clark also stated the matter had “fallen through the cracks”.

“It provides no satisfactory explanation of (his) failure to act,” Justice Lyons said.

Former solicitor Peter Clark has been struck off the Queensland legal practitioner’s roll.

Justice Lyons found the LSC established a number of failures including that Mr Clark did not progress the workers compensation case in a timely fashion that some of these failures “played a significant part” in the case being dismissed.

When the LSC began its investigation Mr Clark was required to provide a written explanation of the matters being investigated and told that a failure to do so “might be dealt with for professional misconduct”.

The LSC has argued Mr Clark’s conduct and its protracted nature “can be characterised as professional misconduct”.

Justice Lyons said it was “concerning” Mr Clark failed to take steps on Mr Bell’s case between April 2016 and September 2017, and February 2018 and May 2019, that he failed to take specific steps for Mr Bell’s appeal and that he did not reply to opposing legal queries.

“It is clear that these failures... to take action amount to conduct that falls short of the standard of competence and diligence that a member of the public is entitled to expect of a reasonably competent Australian legal practitioner,” Justice Lyons said.

Ultimately Justice Lyons found some of Mr Clark’s actions amounted to “professional misconduct” and others, “unsatisfactory professional conduct”.

“(Mr Clark) has admitted fault in the conduct of Mr Bell’s matter, and expressed regret,” Justice Lyons said.

“He has also expressed regret for his failure to respond to the notices given (by the LSC).

Justice Lyons noted Mr Clark had been impacted by “some adversities” at the time which had since resolved but said they “related to only part of the extensive period of delay for which he was responsible”.

The judgment revealed Mr Clark stated in a letter he believed he had been suffering from depression, however there was no medical evidence supporting this.
Justice Lyons also said there was no evidence any steps taken to avoid further failures in his practice were successful or have been continued.

“These considerations are not sufficient to lead the Tribunal to depart from its finding that (Mr Clark) has demonstrated unfitness for practice, nor to reach any conclusion other than that the probability is that the (he) remains permanently unfit for practice,” Justice Lyons said.

Justice Lyons also noted Mr Clark did not “actively engage” in the proceedings and “has not given sworn evidence of any explanation for any of his conduct”.

“It is therefore appropriate to make an order recommending the removal of (Mr Clark’s) name from the roll of practitioners,” Justice Lyons said.

Mr Clark was also ordered to pay costs for the LSC and Mr Bell.

Originally published as Mackay solicitor Peter Elliot Clark disbarred for ‘professional misconduct’