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Lawyer fails to set aside bankruptcy notice, ordered to pay $9k
The Federal Circuit Court has ordered that a lawyer pay a firm she was in dispute with $9,000 in costs following criticisms that her affidavits and her leaving during delivery of reasons did not meet the standards expected of a legal practitioner.
Naomi Neilson
In dismissing her application to set aside a bankruptcy notice and an application to have the matter heard in the Brisbane registry, the Federal Circuit Court noted that lawyer Julene Winn’s conduct during proceedings, including leaving during delivery of reasons, failed to meet standards that are expected of a legal practitioner.
The court noted that it was apparent from her own affidavit evidence that she had been served with the bankruptcy notice, but the steps she took to try and prevent receipt of the service and explain the non-receipt were “extremely unimpressive”.
The Federal Circuit Court wrote in judgement that Ms Winn’s contention that she could not access, “through her own computer”, emails that could be accessed via other sources “is one reason why this conduct falls below the standard expected”.
“The contention that the email address was not the last known email address is contradicted by the applicant’s own affidavit, and without substance. The court does not accept the contentions sought to be advanced, in relation to the substantive issue of setting aside the bankruptcy notice, as the court had no jurisdiction as to the act of bankruptcy occurred before commencement of proceedings,” the court wrote.
Her affidavits were also found to have not reflected the “care and attention that one would ordinarily expect”. Further, the court took issue with Ms Winn leaving the hearing during the proceedings and during the course of the court’s delivery of reasons, which “does not reflect the standards expected of a legal practitioner”.
“The applicant has both an email, that she is capable of accepting, to re-join the hearing, as well as being able to dial in by her mobile,” the court wrote in judgement. “Neither step has been taken by the applicant,” the court wrote.
In these circumstances, the court was satisfied to make an order for the proceedings to continue on the issue of costs, given the applicant’s attendance “and what appears on its face to be a deliberate leaving from the courtroom”. The court ordered that she pay the respondent Boss Lawyers $9,000 in costs.
All information in this article has been obtained from the judgement only, which is publicly available on AustLII. It can be found here: Winn v Boss Lawyers Pty Ltd [2021] FCCA 1067 (18 May 2021).
Naomi Neilson
Naomi Neilson is a senior journalist with a focus on court reporting for Lawyers Weekly.
You can email Naomi at:
