Joseph Bouhabib [1996] NSWLST 3

The Legal Services Tribunal of New South Wales

CITATION : Joseph Bouhabib [1996] NSWLST 3 PARTIES : Joseph Bouhabib FILE NUMBER(S) : of 1995 CORAM: Mr A. Martin (Presiding Member) - Mr M. Megna - Ms M Taylor Professional Misconduct - mislead Court/Tribunal - Professional Misconduct - mislead Law Society/Bar Association/LSC - Professional Misconduct - breach of s. 61 of the Legal Profession Act - Professional Misconduct - practice as a Solicitor/Barrister without a practising :- Wilful Contravention of Section 61(1)(a) and (b) CATCHWORDS: 61(2)(a) and 62 of the Act The Wilful Contravention of Parts 2 and 3 of the Regulation LEGISLATION CITED: Legal Profession Act 1987 Legal Profession (Trust Accounts and Controlled Money) Regulation 1988 Police -v- Hassan Safwan and Mohammad Arhmad ; CASES CITED: re Hodgekiss (1962) NSW LR ; Law Society -v- Foreman 4 LPDR (1994) DATES OF HEARING: 27 October 1995 DATE OF JUDGMENT: 03/01/1996 LEGAL REPRESENTATIVES: Mr N Nicholls appeared for the Law Society. No appearance for the Solicitor

JUDGMENT:

Disciplinary Reports

The Society alleged a number of breaches of section 61 and 62 of the Act and breaches of the Legal Profession (Trust Accounts and Controlled Money) Regulation 1988, misleading of the Society in the solicitor's application for his practising certificate for the year ended 30 June 1994 in that the solicitor indicated he had not held trust moneys when in fact he had conducted an undisclosed trust account, and acted as a solicitor without holding a current practising certificate in making an appearance in Court and informing another party that he was a solicitor, and misled the court in that he informed the Court that he had been issued with a restricted practising certificate when no such certificate had issued.