Login
Struck-off NSW lawyer robbed $470k from clients
An NSW lawyer who stole over $470,000 from clients has been removed from the roll of legal practitioners.
Naomi Neilson
Gen (James) Li was struck off the roll 17 months after he pleaded guilty to obtaining a financial advantage by withdrawing $479,027 from accounts held by his former employer, Sun Lawyers.
“As such, the damage done by the respondent’s acts extended well beyond the clients and principals of the firm by which he was employed,” the bench said in the written reasons.
Between April 2019 and September 2022, Li transferred $213,708 from clients of Sun Lawyers to bank accounts in his name instead of depositing the funds into the firm’s office accounts.
A further $67,000 was taken between March 2020 and September 2022 when Li altered bank account details.
The remaining $198,319 was stolen by Li over 144 instances between July 2020 and September 2022 by transferring funds meant for Sun Lawyers office account directly into accounts in his name.
The principal of Sun Lawyers discovered the offending when a client made a complaint about Li’s conduct.
Li voluntarily attended the Surry Hills Police Station on 9 September 2022 and made full admissions of the fraudulent conduct.
Magistrate Clare Farnan sentenced Li to an aggregate term of imprisonment of two years and eight months, which commenced in May 2023, with a non-parole period of 14 months.
During sentencing, Farnan said in Li’s desire to fund an “extravagant lifestyle”, he extensively planned to commit “multiple acts of fraud”.
Li advised the NSW Law Society he agreed with its resolutions, including the initiation of the disciplinary proceedings.
On whether he thought he was a fit and proper person, Li said he was “unable to form a view at this stage”.
“I do hope that I will be able to prove myself to be a fit and proper person and engage in legal practice at some stage in the future, but whether or not this is feasible is what I do not know and, quite possibly, cannot decide,” Li said.
The case is Council of the Law Society of New South Wales v Li [2024] NSWCA 218 (9 September 2024).
Naomi Neilson
Naomi Neilson is a senior journalist with a focus on court reporting for Lawyers Weekly.
You can email Naomi at:
