Legal Profession Complaints Committee v McLean

The Legal Profession Complaints Committee (the Committee) sought an order from the Supreme Court of Western Australia for the removal of Alexander Jason McLean (the practitioner) from the Roll of Legal Practitioners (the Roll), and for him to pay the costs of the application to be taxed if not agreed. The matter was determined on the papers, with the practitioner not opposing his removal from the Roll. The practitioner had been found guilty of two offences of gaining a benefit by deceit or fraudulent means, contrary to section 409 of the Criminal Code (WA), involving the misappropriation of trust funds held in the account of the legal firm by which he was employed, to the benefit of the Ukrainian Association of Western Australia, a voluntary organisation of which he was the secretary. The practitioner was sentenced to 1 year and 4 months imprisonment on each count, to be served cumulatively, resulting in a total effective sentence of 2 years and 8 months imprisonment. The Committee sought his removal from the Roll on the basis that his criminal conduct made him unfit and improper to remain a member of the legal profession.

The legal issue before the court was whether the practitioner's criminal conduct rendered him unfit and improper to remain a member of the legal profession. The court was required to consider the nature and circumstances of the practitioner's criminal conduct, and whether it demonstrated unfitness to practice law. The court also needed to determine whether the practitioner's removal from the Roll was necessary in the interests of protecting the public and maintaining the integrity of the legal profession. The practitioner did not oppose his removal from the Roll, but the court still needed to consider whether it was appropriate in the circumstances.

The court found that the practitioner's criminal conduct demonstrated unfitness to remain a member of the legal profession. The practitioner had been found guilty of two serious offences involving the misappropriation of trust funds held in the account of the legal firm by which he was employed, for his own benefit. The court considered that the practitioner's conduct demonstrated a serious breach of the trust placed in him as a legal practitioner, and a lack of honesty and integrity. The court also noted that the practitioner had not shown any remorse for his conduct, and had not taken any steps to make amends for his wrongdoing. The court found that the practitioner's removal from the Roll was necessary in the interests of protecting the public and maintaining the integrity of the legal profession.

The court ordered that the practitioner's name be struck off the Roll of Legal Practitioners, and that he pay the costs of the application to be taxed if not agreed. The court noted that the practitioner had already served a significant period of imprisonment for his criminal conduct, and that his removal from the Roll was an appropriate sanction in the circumstances. The court also considered that the practitioner's removal from the Roll would send a strong message to other legal practitioners about the importance of honesty, integrity, and trust in the legal profession.