Tabled Paper - Parliament of Western Australia

Grounds of unsatisfactory professional conduct
That between February 2007 and February 2009 in the course of acting
for a company the practitioner delayed or neglected the client's matter
in that he failed to:
(i) expeditiously obtain judgment in proceedings for the recovery of
trade indebtedness between the client and another company; and
(ii) procure expeditious service of documents on the judgment debtor to
enforce the judgment debt owed to his client.
That the practitioner when acting as local agent for a Victorian law
practice on behalf of its client Mr H with respect to taxations of costs in a
District Court action and Supreme Court action between 13 April 2007
and 22 June 2008 failed to progress the client's matter in a timely
manner or at all in that he:
® failed to brief a Costs Consultant to prepare bills of costs for
taxation as instructed;
® failed to respond to the Victorian solicitor's letters of various dates
between 19 February 2007 and 14 March 2008.
Finding
Private
reprimand
Fine of $1,500
That:
(1) from in or about 25 February 2009 to 3 April 2009 failed and/or
neglected to act on the instructions of Mr W ("the client"); and
(2) from in or about 17 March 2009 to 6 November 2009 failed and/or
neglected to adequately communicate with the client.
That between 19 March 2009 or thereabouts and 10 June 2009 or
thereabouts the practitioner, whilst knowing her client was intentionally
failing to fully comply with certain Orders of the Family Court:
(i) acted upon certain instructions from the client which aided the
client's continuing non-compliance with the Orders; and
(ii) failed to advise her client that his intentional non-compliance with
the Orders could be found by the Court to be a contravention of the
Orders and of the possible consequences of such a finding.
That between November 2003 or thereabouts and March 2004 or
thereabouts the practitioner acted in circumstances involving a conflict
of interests, by acting for both parties to the joint venture (BJV) (being A
Ltd and P Ltd) in the sale of certain residential units whilst:
A. the terms and validity of contracts for the sale of units to
companies in which directors of the company had an interest
were in dispute; and
B. the practitioner was also acting for the company in respect of
litigation brought by A Ltd against P Ltd arising from alleged
breaches of the joint venture agreement; and, in doing so, failed
to diligently protect and advance the interests of A Ltd.
Fine of $2,000
Compensation
order and
private
reprimand
Private
reprimand and
fine of $500