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The NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal has struck off a solicitor who disbursed his clients’ trust monies without permission and attempted to hide the payments.
Solicitor James Edward Leslie disbursed clients’ monies to benefit himself, directly and indirectly, on two occasions and then proceeded to mislead account records so as to conceal his motives. He has been removed from the roll of practitioners.
“The conduct was a substantial and consistent failure to reach or maintain reasonable standards of competence and diligence,” the tribunal documents noted, adding that he did not respond to the complaints or invitations to make submissions.
There were two cases that led to his removal, the first being Mr Lambie (his first name has been concealed by the tribunal), who was the sole executor and a sole beneficiary of his late mother’s estate when he acquired the assistance of Mr Leslie. At the end of October 2016, Mr Lambie entered into a costs agreement with Mr Leslie.
In December 2016, a cheque for $209,856.46 was received at Mr Leslie’s incorporated legal practice. The cheque was the repayment of a nursing home bond which Mr Leslie deposited directly into the firm’s trust account. By January 2017, Mr Leslie disbursed this amount into four external accounts, without the authority of Mr Lambie.
“Each disbursement had benefited either Leslie Hargrave Lawyer Pty Ltd or Mr Leslie, directly or indirectly,” the tribunal documents noted. “Mr Lambie gave no authority for the withdrawal of the $209,856.46, or any part of it, or for its disbursement.
“As a solicitor for some years standing, and as the sole practitioner of Leslie Hargraves Lawyers Pty Ltd, Mr Leslie either knew or ought to have known that he was not entitled to bring about the withdrawal of the $209,856.46 or cause its disbursement.”
Mr Leslie then took steps to conceal the true use of the money by using confusing and “misleading” references in accounting records. The tribunal inferred that he believed it to be in his interest and therefore knew the disbursements were wrong.
In the other instance, Mr Leslie acted for Mr Camilleri (whose name was also redacted) in relation to a proposed purchase of a property. In April 2017, an employee of the firm sent Ms Camilleri an email informing her that stamp duty of $58,935 would be payable in May in relation to the purchase of the property and requesting she deposit it.
In response, Ms Camilleri deposited that amount into the trust account. Mr Leslie never paid the stamp duty for the purchase of the property. Only days after this money was deposited, Mr Leslie disbursed it in similar ways to the prior issue and then attempted to cover up the disbursements in his account records again.
“The failure to comply was a substantial failure to maintain the standard of competence and diligence that a member of the public is entitled to expect of a competent lawyer,” the tribunal noted. “The failure, in context, would justify a finding that Mr Leslie is not a fit and proper person to engage in legal practice.”
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Naomi Neilson is a senior journalist with a focus on court reporting for Lawyers Weekly.
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