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Barrister freed from drawn-out disciplinary proceedings
A West Australian barrister accused of giving false medical evidence to the Supreme Court walked away from disciplinary proceedings after the complainant failed to pay security for costs.
Naomi Neilson
The Supreme Court of Western Australia brought an end to proceedings against barrister Peter Gilbert McGowan, who was forced to face a failed disciplinary complaint and attempts to appeal by James McGeough.
The State Administrative Tribunal found there was “no material” to support a finding that either McGowan or Kirchner were guilty of professional misconduct or unsatisfactory professional conduct.
In May, an order was made that McGeough pay $15,000 for security for costs to keep McGowan in the proceedings.
During those proceedings, McGowan said it would cost him an estimated $45,567 to defend himself against the allegations.
After the deadline for payment passed, McGeough sought to extend the timeline, submitting to the court that he had been unable to retain legal assistance and that a barrister who offered to work on his case pro bono had to withdraw over “questions about the arrangement on court processes that have remained unresolved”.
President Michael Buss and Justice Robert Mitchell said the proceedings have been on foot since December 2022, “so that the appellant had reasonable opportunity to obtain legal representation”.
They added there was no explanation of what the unresolved questions were or any evidence of a “concrete arrangement” for McGeough to obtain counsel for the appeal.
“In the circumstances, it did not appear to us to be in the interests of justice to grant the adjournment, which was opposed by the third respondent,” Justice Buss and Justice Mitchell said.
During an application in May, Kirchner also applied for security of costs, but neither he nor McGeough had complied with orders “in a way that enabled the hearing to progress”.
Kirchner and McGeough agreed to extend the deadline to do so.
The case is McGeough v Law Complaints Officer as the Delegate of the Legal Profession Complaints Committee [No 2] [2024] WASCA 103 (26 August 2024).
Naomi Neilson
Naomi Neilson is a senior journalist with a focus on court reporting for Lawyers Weekly.
You can email Naomi at:
