Case History

In this case Greg Walsh represented Mr Alkhair in respect of an allegation of professional misconduct made against him by the Law Society of NSW. Rule 9 of Legal Profession Uniform Law Australian Solicitors Conduct Rules 2015 prohibits the disclosure by a solicitor of any information which is confidential to the client acquired by a solicitor in the client’s engagement. The rule provides that in certain circumstances, a solicitor may disclose information which is confidential to the client. The solicitor was admitted on 13 February 2004. He had acted for Mr Navid Moraki and Mrs Moraki on the purchase of two properties at Warrigee and Castle Hill. The Moraki’s had entered into a loan agreement one Omar El-Cheikh dated 12 October 2016. Mrs Moraki borrowed $900,000 from Mr El-Cheikh based on the Castle Hill property as security, The solicitor acted for Mrs Moraki in connection to the loan agreement. Mr Joseph Di Mauro of DSA Law acted for Mr El-Cheikh in connection with the loan agreement. A dispute arose in respect of Mrs Moraki and Mr El-Cheikh in relation to the loan agreement and proceedings were commenced in May 2017 in the Supreme Court by Mr El-Cheikh and El-Cheikh Group Pty

Peter Kaiser Simpson was the subject of a disciplinary application by the Council of the Law Society of New South Wales alleging that he had been guilty of professional misconduct. The Law Society of New South Wales contended that the solicitor had breached sections 254 and 255 of the Legal Profession Act 2004 in that he was guilty of misappropriation and delay in the payment of disbursements due to third parties and had that he failed to supervise his employees. The solicitor admitted the conduct described in the amended particulars relied upon by the Law Society as constituting professional misconduct, however he denied the grounds alleging misappropriation. The Tribunal set out the amended particulars in respect of each of the grounds of complaint and also the agreed facts. On 7 September 2009 Mr Napper, a trust account inspector, attended the solicitor’s office and inspected the firm’s accounts. Mr Napper identified unpaid disbursements and delay in having paid such disbursements where funds had been received by the firm into the office account, either by transfer from trust, from settlement monies or otherwise. On 8 September 2009 Mr Napper spoke to the solicitor and informed him that there were unpaid disbursements which

On 24 May 2011 Hoeben J delivered judgment in respect of a claim by Brian Vincent Maloney, a Local Court Magistrate, seeking prepatory relief that the decision of the defendants that he is currently incapacitated for performance of the office of Magistrate is invalid. A judicial officer can only be removed from office pursuant to s.53 of the Constitution Act 1982, by the Governor on an address from both Houses of Parliament in the same session, seeking removal on the grounds of prudeness, behaviour or incapacity. The removal can only occur if there is a report from the Conduct Division containing an opinion set out in s.28(1)(a) Judicial Officers Act, 1986, NSW (“the Act”). Magistrate Maloney was subject to four complaints. Three of these relate to events between 17 September 2008 and 23 December 2009. The first two complaints were from individuals who appeared in proceedings before the plaintiff, Mr Tareq Altaranesi (9 January 2009) and Mr Oliver Banovec (17 September 2009). The third complaint was referred to the Conduct Division being from Dr Duncan Wallace concerning mental health hearings which took place before Magistrate Maloney on 3 December 2009 at the Kiloh Centre, Prince of Wales Hospital. The fourth

Jaskaran Singh, a solicitor of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, was born on 1 October 1954 in Punjad, India. He attended Punjabi University in Patiala and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1975. He enrolled at the Gahrwal University and graduated with a Bachelor of Laws degree in 1976, and worked as a legal practitioner in Nawanshahr. In November 1987 Mr Singh migrated to Australia with his wife and two children who at that time were 3 and 1 years of age. He obtained work in an Aluminium Processing Factory. He then obtained a job with the State Rail Authority as a train guard where he continued to work for 10 years. Whilst working as a train guard he enrolled in the Legal Practitioners Admission Board course at the University of Sydney and in 1995 he obtained a Diploma of Practical Law Training at the College of Law and on 7 July 1995 he was admitted to the Supreme Court of New South Wales. Between 4 December 1995 and 1 July 1998 he was registered as a Migration Agent with the Migration Agents Registration Authority. In or about 1996 he met a George Caristo and as Mr

In this matter Greg Walsh acted for Liljana Stanoevski, a solicitor, who was found by the appeal panel of the Administrative Decision’s Tribunal to have engaged in various significant acts of professional misconduct. See Stanoevski v Law Society of New South Wales ( No. 2) (LSD) 2004 NSW ADTAP 35. Ms Stanoevski appealed to the Court of Appeal in respect of the decision of professional misconduct and the order removing her name from the Roll of Solicitors: Stanoevski v The Council of the Law Society of New South Wales (2005) NSWCA 428. The Court of Appeal held that there was no reason to set aside the findings of professional misconduct but the process by which the penalty had been arrived at contained a material procedural flaw. The orders were set aside and the matter referred to the Appeal panel. The Appeal panel reconsidered the question of penalty and once again, though by majority rather than unanimously, concluded that the appellant’s name should be removed from the roll: Stanoevski v The Council of the Law Society of New South Wales (ILSD) NSW ADTAP 25. It was argued on behalf of Ms Stanoevski that the Appeal Panel had fallen into error in

In this matter Greg Walsh appeared for Bronwyn Ann Dwyer, a solicitor, who was the subject of an application that she was guilty of professional misconduct. The application was based upon two grounds namely that the solicitor failed to inform a Mr Reed, the complainant, that the Court had dismissed proceedings in which he was the plaintiff, because of inactivity; and secondly, she had misled or attempted to mislead the Law Society. The history of the matter was referred to at length in the judgment of the Administrative Decisions Tribunal handed down on 17 August 2006. The Tribunal consisting of C Vass, Judicial Member; J Currie, Judicial Member; and A O’Neill, Non-Judicial Member heard evidence as to the circumstances in which the solicitor was asked by a partner at her firm, namely Back Schwartz Vaughan, Solicitors, to deal with a notice issued from the Supreme Court in relation to a defamation matter. That notice was pursuant to Part 32A of the Supreme Court Rules. The articles that gave rise to the action in defamation had been published as long ago as 20 December 1986. The client had instructed Back Schwartz Vaughan in March 1987. These were separate proceedings instituted in

In this matter Greg Walsh acted for Mr Whiting, a Solicitor who was the subject of a complaint of professional misconduct. The solicitor had procured his wife to affix a signature to wills as witness, falsely asserting that she was present when the testators and the solicitor signed them. The Solicitor conceded the grounds of the complaint and was ultimately fined $5,000.

In this matter Greg Walsh represented Mr Meredith in respect of an application by the Law Society of New South Wales that his name be removed from the Role of Legal Practitioners. Mr Meredith conceded that he had been guilty of professional misconduct in that he had misappropriated monies from his clients as a legal practitioner some years beforehand. His name was removed from the Role.

In this matter Greg Walsh acted for a legal practitioner, namely Liljana Stanoevski, who had her name removed from the Roll of Practitioners by the Administrative Decisions Tribunal. The Appeal Panel of the Administrative Decisions Tribunal upheld the appeal on behalf of Ms Stanoevski in that the Tribunal had failed to take into account a fundamental issue, namely her post-natal depression and sequelae in reaching its findings.

In this matter Greg Walsh represented the respondent, a solicitor, in respect of an application by the Prothonotary of the Supreme Court seeking a declaration that the name of the solicitor be struck off the Role of Solicitors. The solicitor had pleaded guilty to importing a practicable quantity of cocaine and served a sentence of imprisonment. The Prothonotary applied to have her name removed from the Roll of Legal Practitioners on the grounds that a conviction constituted professional misconduct within the meaning of s127(1)(b) of the Legal Profession Act and that she was not a fit and proper person to remain on the roll. The Court found that the solicitor had been drug free for almost 5 years and that the factual matrix of the case was such that the solicitor was not at risk to the public. The application was dismissed for costs.

In this matter Greg Walsh appeared for Robert Douglas West, a solicitor, in relation to a matter before the Administrative Decisions Tribunal, alleging professional misconduct, a breach of s61 of the Legal Profession Act. The solicitor conceded the breach. The Administrative Decisions Tribunal on 24 November 2003 publicly reprimanded the Legal Practitioner and ordered him to pay the Law Society’s costs.

When the proceedings taken by the Legal Services Commissioner came before the Tribunal for hearing on 26 October 1998, Mr Musgrave did not appear. The Tribunal noted that the practitioner had ‘disappeared’ from his place of residence at Coffs Harbour two days before 26 October 1998 and that the Tribunal had found in other proceedings (taken by the Law Society) against the legal practitioner that in the period of his disappearance from 24 October 1998 to 5 November 1998, he was suffering from a dissociative fugue and was not responsible for his actions in impersonating another Solicitor. The Tribunal however in making its findings of professional misconduct in respect of complaints bought to the Tribunal by the Legal Services Commissioner, did not accept the solicitor’s conduct in respect of which those findings were made was affected by or explained by mental illness. The Tribunal said at (24) it was “satisfied that on the balance of probabilities, the Solicitor did suffer a dissociative fugue in October, 1998, from the time of his disappearance until sometime about the time of his return to Coffs Harbour on 5 November 1998. This was an episode of illness of short duration.” The Tribunal was satisfied