Legal Practitioners Conduct Board v Figwer

The Legal Practitioners Conduct Board brought charges against a practitioner, alleging 12 counts of unprofessional conduct and one count of unsatisfactory conduct over a period spanning from September 2007 to October 2011. The conduct in question included failures to comply with regulatory requirements such as filing audit reports and maintaining accurate trust accounts, misappropriation of trust monies, practising while suspended, failing to cooperate with disciplinary bodies, incompetence and delay in client matters, delayed payment of counsel fees, and acts of dishonesty including misleading counsel, a Federal Magistrate, and the Board during its investigation. The matter came before the Supreme Court of South Australia.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether the practitioner's established unprofessional conduct was sufficiently serious to warrant striking his name from the Roll of legal practitioners. In determining this, the Court was required to consider the public interest, the need to protect the public and maintain confidence in the legal profession and the administration of justice, rather than solely focusing on punishment of the practitioner.

The Court found the practitioner's conduct to be serious professional misconduct, particularly noting the findings of dishonesty in his dealings with counsel, his representations to the Board and Tribunal, his submissions to the Federal Magistrates Court, and the misappropriation of trust monies. The Court also highlighted the deliberate nature of his failures to comply with regulatory requirements, his practice while suspended in deliberate disregard of the law, and his extremely serious failure to maintain accurate trust accounts. These breaches of professional obligations were considered deliberate and serious.

Ultimately, the Court held that the practitioner's unprofessional conduct was serious and that nothing less than striking his name from the Roll would suffice to protect the public and maintain public confidence in the legal profession and the administration of justice.