Legal Services Commissioner v Bechara (No 3) [2009] NSWADT 313

CITATION: Legal Services Commissioner v Bechara (No 3) [2009] NSWADT 313

DIVISION: Legal Services Division

APPLICANT Legal Services Commissioner PARTIES: RESPONDENT Maria Bechara

FILE NUMBER: 062023

HEARING DATES: 1 December 2009

SUBMISSIONS CLOSED: 1 December 2009

DATE OF DECISION: 14 December 2009

BEFORE: Haylen W - J (Deputy President); Barnes M - Judicial Member; O'Neill A - Non-Judicial Member

CATCHWORDS: Professional misconduct - hearing regarding penalty - deliberate charging of grossly excessive costs - failure to apportion costs of joint hearing involving three clients - respondent practitioner consents to public reprimand and payment of applicant's costs - applicant seeks imposition of fine - factors place breach in lower end of range of fines - appropriate case in which to impose fine

LEGISLATION CITED : Legal Profession Act¸ 1987 Legal Profession Act 2004, ss 566, 576(e), 577

Environment Protection Authority v Barnes [2006] NSWCCA 246 Legal Services Commissioner v Bechara [2009] NSWADT 145 CASES CITED: New South Wales Bar Association v Meakes [2006] NSWCA 340 Nikolaidis v Legal Services Commissioner [2007] NSWCA 130 Veghelyi v The Law Society of New South Wales (unreported, NSWCA, 6 October 1995)

APPLICANT L Muston, solicitor REPRESENTATION: RESPONDENT P Doyle Gray, barrister

(1)The respondent practitioner, Ms Maria Bechara, is found guilty of professional misconduct ORDERS: (2)The respondent practitioner is publicly reprimanded (3)The respondent practitioner is fined the sum of $6,500.(4)The respondent practitioner is to pay the costs of the Legal Services Commissioner in a sum as agreed or, in the absence of agreement, as assessed.