Legal Services Commissioner v Brown

In the matter of Legal Services Commissioner v Brown, the Legal Services Commissioner, acting on behalf of the Queensland Legal Services Commission, brought charges against the respondent, Brown, for professional misconduct and unsatisfactory professional conduct. The charges were predicated on Brown's conviction for dishonestly obtaining property from another, subject to a trust, direction or condition, as per sections 408C(1)(b) and (2)(c) of the Criminal Code. The Commissioner sought to have Brown's name removed from the Roll of Legal Practitioners, contending that her conduct was likely to bring the profession into disrepute and that she had engaged in professional misconduct by virtue of her criminal conviction.

The central legal issues before the Tribunal were whether Brown's conduct amounted to professional misconduct and whether it was appropriate to recommend the removal of Brown's name from the Roll. The Commissioner argued that the persistent nature of Brown's fraud over a three-year period indicated that she was permanently unfit to practise law. Brown, who had not responded to the discipline application or appeared at the hearing, did not provide any evidence to suggest that she might become fit to practise in the future.

The Tribunal found that Brown's actions constituted professional misconduct and that she had engaged in conduct likely to bring the profession into disrepute. Given the gravity of her criminal conviction and the fact that she had not contested the charges or provided any evidence to suggest she could be fit to practise in the future, the Tribunal concluded that it was highly probable that Brown was permanently unfit to practise law. Therefore, the Tribunal recommended that Brown's name be removed from the local Roll of Legal Practitioners.

In light of the findings, the Tribunal ordered that Brown's name be removed from the local Roll and that she pay the Commissioner's costs, to be assessed on the standard basis on the Supreme Court scale under the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 1999 (Qld).