COSHOTT v THE COUNCIL OF THE LAW SOCIETY OF NEW SOUTH WALES [1997] NSWCA 80

COSHOTT v THE COUNCIL OF THE LAW SOCIETY OF NEW SOUTH WALES

SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES COURT OF APPEAL

MEAGHER, SHELLER and STEIN JJA 1, 2 October 1997, 17 December 1997 [1997] NSWCA 80

Legal practitioners — solicitors — trust accounts — statutory requirements — Legal Profession Act 1987 s61, s62 — complaints — Legal Services Tribunal — duty not to mislead

These two appeals concern the statutory requirement that a solicitor pay money received on behalf of another person into a general trust account at a bank, except where that person otherwise directs, and the duty of a solicitor not to mislead clients or a tribunal investigating complaints against that solicitor.

The appellant Solicitor was a sole practitioner who ceased operating a trust account after March 1989, and after ceasing to practise on 30 June 1991, transferred his current files to other solicitors.

The first appeal arose out of a complaint made against the Solicitor by the Council of the Law Society of New South Wales to the Legal Profession Disciplinary Tribunal, in 1993. It alleged that the Solicitor had wilfully contravened s61 and s62 of the Act in relation to the affairs of thirteen clients.

Of these, one contravention was dismissed, and four were not pressed. The allegation in each case was that the Solicitor had dealt with money received by him on behalf of the client by paying the cheque received into one of three general accounts in his name without the client's authority. A supplementary complaint was made alleging the Solicitor had wilfully made false statements in a statutory declaration, propounded false documents, and endeavoured to mislead the Legal Profession Disciplinary Tribunal.

The Tribunal found wilful breaches of both s61 and s62 in respect of the eight matters, that statements made by the Solicitor were false and false to the knowledge of the Solicitor, that file notes or part thereof were false, and that he endeavoured to mislead the Tribunal.