STANOEVSKI v THE COUNCIL OF THE LAW SOCIETY OF NEW SOUTH WALES [2005] NSWCA 428

New South Wales Court of Appeal

CITATION: STANOEVSKI v THE COUNCIL OF THE LAW SOCIETY OF NEW SOUTH WALES [2005] NSWCA 428

HEARING DATE(S): 3 November 2005

JUDGMENT DATE: 6 December 2005

JUDGMENT OF: Mason P at 1; McColl JA at 58; Brownie AJA at 59

DECISION: Appeal allowed in part. See par 57 for further orders.

CATCHWORDS: Legal practitioners – discipline – professional misconduct - Deliberate conduct involving the proffering of false documents to Family Court – deliberate attempt to mislead Law Society – Appeal Panel also found that appellant had deliberately attempted to mislead Tribunal at first instance by giving false evidence - impact of appellant's subjective circumstances in contributing to her poor performance as a witness - Principle in Briginshaw v Briginshaw not applicable to decision whether striking-off was an appropriate response to the findings of misconduct - Procedural fairness - conduct of case before Appeal Panel -Grounds of Information not amended to raise question that appellant deliberately gave false evidence before Tribunal at first instance - matter not raised before Appeal Panel (ND)

LEGISLATION CITED: Administrative Decisions Tribunal Act, s113, s119

Barwick v Council of the Law Society of New South Wales [2004] NSWCA 32, (2004) Aust Torts Rep 81-370 Fox v Percy (2003) 214 CLR 118 Law Society of New South Wales v Stanoevski [2003] NSWADT 77 Prothonotary of the Supreme Court of NSW v P [2003] NSWCA 320 Smith v New South Wales Bar Association (1992) 176 CLR 256 CASES CITED: Soulemezis v Dudley Holdings Pty Ltd (1987) 10 NSWLR 247 Stanoevski v Law Society of New South Wales [2003] NSWADTAP 33 Stanoevski v Law Society of New South Wales (No 2) (LSD) [2004] NSWADTAP 35 Stanoevski v The Queen (2000) 202 CLR 115 Stead v State Government Insurance Commission (1986) 161 CLR 141