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Local lawyer gets kicked out of profession for 2 years after ‘serious’ misconduct
A regional lawyer was barred from practising for two years after a series of blunders in one matter, including directing a junior lawyer under her supervision to send a false document to a government agency.
Naomi Neilson
Kristy Anne Burrows, principal and director of Yarra Ranges Lawyers, was reprimanded, had her practising certificate cancelled, and told not to practise for a period of two years following several errors she made while representing a mother and daughter on their property transaction.
By assisting both women as the vendor and purchaser, and again as the lender and borrower in respect of a loan agreement, Burrows acted in a conflict and failed to advise them and obtain consent.
The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) was told in addition to this, Burrows created a false document to send to the State Revenue Office (SRO) to “mask an error” she had made and to provide the daughter with financial advantage. She did so without instruction.
“Time away from practice is required so that Burrows can reflect on her conduct and develop full, meaningful and lasting insight,” VCAT member Neill Campbell said in his written judgment.
Burrows began acting for the two women in July 2017 on the property matter, which involved drafting documents for the sale of the property, creating a related loan agreement, and the subsequent conveyance.
Due to hitches in the related party transaction and the first home buyers concession, Burrows informed the daughter in January 2018 the SRO required she pay the full amount of the stamp duty. She advised the daughter to request a refund after the settlement.
In June the same year, the SRO informed Burrows the refund was denied because it only had proof of payment for half the property’s value, and the loan agreement between mother and daughter could not be considered because it did not include a repayment schedule.
The same day, Burrows told a junior lawyer to send an email to the SRO with a falsely created loan agreement attached. Neither the mother or daughter provided her with instructions to do so.
Because the daughter had not made any monthly repayments prior to September 2018 and the mother had not registered a mortgage or caveat, the SRO informed Burrows the refund request was denied.
The SRO said it did not consider the daughter was a bona fide purchaser of the property and was not eligible for the first home buyer stamp duty exemption or principal place of residence concession.
Campbell said the amount of potential stamp duty relief was worth “tens of thousands of dollars”, and Burrows’ failure to adequately advise the daughter of the eligibility requirements and the risks of not obtaining the stamp duty relief meant that the daughter was deprived of the opportunity to opt out, delay or restructure the transaction.
Referring to the false document, Campbell noted Burrows “believed she was acting within the scope of her instructions” but has now acknowledged she should “not have tried to hide her mistake”.
“When the application for exemption was rejected by the SRO, Burrows ought to have not sought to avoid embarrassment or the client’s anger by informing the client immediately of the rejection instead of engaging in dishonest conduct,” Campbell wrote.
The tribunal noted Burrows did not receive any financial advantage and she intended to “act in the best interests of the client”.
Campbell added there was a need for general deterrence in Burrows’ punishment “to deter other practitioners from engaging in such serious improper conduct”, including creating false documents, sending misleading emails, and acting in a conflict situation without consent.
On Burrows’ behalf, her counsel told VCAT that there would be “no greater deterrence” for Burrows to be banned from practising because she is “well-known in the community and her stepping out of legal practice will not go unnoticed”.
In addition to the reprimand and cancellation of her practising certificate, Burrows was ordered to pay the Victorian Legal Services Commission’s costs in the sum of $20,000.
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Naomi Neilson
Naomi Neilson is a senior journalist with a focus on court reporting for Lawyers Weekly.
You can email Naomi at:
