Lawyer who lied to Minters banned for seven years

A former lawyer whose forged academic and employment credentials landed him a summer clerkship at Minter Ellison has been banned from legal practice until 2022.

Leanne Mezrani • 23 December 2014 • SME Law

Lawyer who lied to Minters banned for seven years

The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) ruled this month that Luke Grosser has been prohibited from holding a practising certificate until 31 December 2021 for a string of dishonesty offences.

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Grosser was found guilty of making false claims about his academic records, qualifications and employment experience. He also faked references from previous employers and made false statements to the NSW Legal Profession Admission Board and Centrelink.

Minters has confirmed that Grosser was a summer clerk at the firm’s Melbourne office for three weeks over November and December 2005. He applied for a role as a property lawyer in 2010 but was unsuccessful.

VCAT’s decision reveals that Grosser lied about the date he was admitted, his tertiary education rank and the length of his legal experience when applying for the job at Minters. He also falsely stated that he achieved First Class Honours with a high distinction average in his Victoria University Bachelor of Laws degree, when in actual fact he graduated Second Class Honours with a credit average.

VCAT senior member Jonathan Smithers said Grosser’s “frequent, systematic and elaborate” deceit over the two-year period show “he is not a person of honesty”.

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“There is no material on which I can conclude anything other than that he is unfit to practise permanently, or at least indefinitely,” added Smithers.

VCAT ordered Grosser not to hold a practising certificate for the next seven years and recommends that he be referred to the Supreme Court to be removed from the local roll of practitioners.

Grosser was also fined a total of $6,000 and ordered to pay the Legal Services Commissioner’s costs of $10,021.

Stephen Tuesday, 13 January 2015

You'd want to make it believable right? Don't want to go too far with the lie...

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Bob Bottom Saturday, 27 December 2014

You would think a legal firm would welcome such an unprincipled chap, you know, a lack of scruples and morals. Ideal prerequisites for a career in law.

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Legal Philosopher Tuesday, 23 December 2014

It will be interesting to see what happens in the future with the use of Linkedin profiles and the like. It is not uncommon to see public profiles, such as Linkedin, being "inflated" or at least "moderated". Will these lies be seen as "mere puff' or will they be seen as "frequent, systematic and elaborate". I guess new graduates, as well as long standing practitioners, may need to be very careful about these issues in the future.

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Alphabet678 Tuesday, 23 December 2014

Victoria University "College of Law and Justice". LOL at the "and Justice" bit. I've always wondered why these tin pot universities love to extend their college names with entirely unnecessary descriptors.

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Mike Tuesday, 23 December 2014

I love it, Victoria one example of many tin pot universities offering law degrees to students, who would not get into the Group of Eight. Again, too any law schools offering places to students of questionable ability who will never get a job in the law.

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Bruce Tuesday, 23 December 2014

If only he was a financial planner ... would have gotten a promotion

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tandyx Tuesday, 23 December 2014

Greg#illridewithyou: because you are everything wrong with the la

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Suzie Tuesday, 23 December 2014

VU is a wonderful university to gain a law degree.

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Greg Monday, 22 December 2014

If you are going to forge an academic transcript wouldn't you forge one from a better university than VU?

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Absurdiness Brown Monday, 22 December 2014

Good decision. 

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