Council of the Law Society of New South Wales v Elina [2021] NSWCATOD 98

Civil and Administrative Tribunal New South Wales Medium Neutral Citation: Council of the Law Society of New South Wales v Elina [2021] NSWCATOD 98 Hearing dates: 30 June 2021 Date of orders: 20 July 2021 Decision date: 20 July 2021 Jurisdiction: Occupational Division Before: M Sindler, Senior Member M Riordan, Senior Member B Thomson, General Member Decision: Having made a finding of professional misconduct against the Solicitor, the Tribunal orders that: (1) The Solicitor is reprimanded. (2) The Solicitor must undertake further education in the following terms: (a) the Solicitor is to undertake, complete and pass, at his own expense, within 12 months of the date of the orders made by the Tribunal (and during which the solicitor holds a practising certificate) (the Time Period), a Practice Management Course that is approved by the Director, Legal Regulation (Director) and therein achieve a pass mark of not less than 65% (Pass Mark); (b) the Solicitor shall, within seven (7) days of receipt of notification of the result of his participation in the course, provide to the Director the original of such notification; (c) should the Solicitor fail to achieve the Pass Mark in the course, he shall complete such further course (in which he may not have achieved the Pass Mark) as approved by the Director until such time as he achieves the Pass Mark in the course within the Time Period; and (d) if, at the end of the Time Period, the Solicitor has failed to achieve the Pass Mark in the course, any practising certificate then held by him shall be suspended until such time as he achieves the Pass Mark in the course and should he then not hold a practising certificate, no further practising certificate shall be issued to him until he achieves the Pass Mark in the course. (3) The Solicitor pay the Applicant's costs as agreed or assessed. Catchwords: OCCUPATIONS — legal practitioners — solicitor — misconduct and discipline — professional misconduct — trust money — instrument of consent — reprimand — costs order Legislation Cited: Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2013 (NSW) Legal Profession Act 2004 (NSW) (repealed) Legal Profession Uniform General Rules 2015 (NSW) Legal Profession Uniform Law Application Act 2014 (NSW) Legal Profession Uniform Law (NSW) Cases Cited: Barwick v Council of the Law Society of New South Wales [2004] NSWCA 32 Council of the Law Society of New South Wales v Webb [2013] NSWCA 423 Council of the Law Society of NSW v Low [2020] NSWCATOD 142 Council of the New South Wales Bar Association v Breeze [2015] NSWCATOD 152 Council of the New South Wales Bar Association v Butland [2009] NSWADT 177 Council of the New South Wales Bar Association v Hanrahan [2018] NSWCATOD 44 Ex parte Macaulay (1930) 30 SR (NSW) 193 Law Society of New South Wales v Bannister (1993) 4 LPDR 24 Law Society of New South Wales v Jones (Court of Appeal (NSW), 27 July 1978, unrep) Law Society of New South Wales v Maharaj [2017] NSWCATOD 79 Law Society of New South Wales v Walsh [1997] NSWCA 185 Legal Services Commissioner v Searle [2016] NSWCATOD 23 The Prothonotary of the Supreme Court of New South Wales v Dimitrious [2015] NSWCA 258 Texts Cited: Nil Category: Principal judgment Parties: Council of the Law Society of New South Wales (Applicant) Hermansah Elina (Respondent) Representation: Solicitors: Law Society of New South Wales (Applicant) Respondent (self-represented) File Number(s): 2021/00073319 Publication restriction: Nil