Gitane and Velacruz (No. 2)

The case of *Gitane and Velacruz (No. 2)* concerned an application by the husband seeking to restrain the wife's solicitors, the firm Temple-Smith Partners and a partner, Terrence John McGuire, from representing the wife in ongoing family law proceedings. The dispute arose in the context of an Enforcement Application filed by the wife and a separate Application filed by the husband.

The primary legal issue before Dessau J was whether the solicitors for the wife should be disqualified from acting for her due to a conflict of interest. This required the court to consider the principles governing conflicts of interest in legal representation, particularly in the context of family law proceedings where parties may have previously been represented by the same firm or its members.

Dessau J found that a conflict of interest did exist, necessitating the disqualification of the wife's solicitors. The court applied established legal principles concerning the duty of loyalty and the avoidance of conflicts, determining that the circumstances presented a real risk of prejudice to the husband's interests. Consequently, the court ordered that the firm Temple-Smith Partners and Terrence John McGuire be restrained from representing the wife in the Enforcement Application and the husband's Application. The court also ordered the wife to pay the husband's costs of the application and dismissed the husband's Form 2 application, referring the substantive proceedings to the Registrar for fixing a hearing date.