A lawyer whose treatment of junior staff was described as “at times appalling” has been suspended for four months and ordered to pay more than $242,000 in costs.
The lawyer, known as Ms A, begins her suspension on 12 November 2026. According to Stuff’s report of the penalty decision, the Lawyers and Conveyancers Disciplinary Tribunal also ordered 12 months of monthly supervision when she returns.
The orders follow three misconduct findings and one of unsatisfactory conduct. The misconduct findings covered practising on her own account when forbidden to do so, failing to supervise and manage junior staff, and failing to engage directly with a client.
Costs, not a fine
Despite some headlines to the contrary, the penalty was not a fine. Ms A must pay 80% of the Standards Committee’s $185,000 legal costs ($148,000) and reimburse $94,531.50 in tribunal costs, a total of $242,531.50. She must also pay any outstanding costs awarded against her clients in separate court proceedings. Those amounts were not reported.
“At times appalling”
The tribunal called her conduct serious. It said the firm’s operations were “certainly less than scrupulously honest” and pointed to repeated failures to meet court directions and deadlines. In its earlier liability decision, it found she had installed a nominal director as “window dressing” while effectively running the practice herself.
LawFuel covered those findings in Five Junior Lawyers Quit in One Day: Senior NZ Lawyer Found Guilty of Misconduct.
Tribunal Considerations
The tribunal weighed several points in her favour:
- she promptly admitted a fourth charge
- she has overhauled the firm’s management and staff systems
- loyal clients and senior staff gave positive evidence
- there have been no recent client complaints
Even so, it held that a moderate suspension was the minimum needed to maintain public confidence and deter others. “The public are entitled to scrutinise the manner in which a profession disciplines its members,” it said.
Four months is well short of the nine to 12 months the Standards Committee sought at the penalty hearing, as LawFuel reported in September.
Ms A had asked to delay any suspension until late January 2027. Tribunal Chair Dale Clarkson observed that a four-month deferral was the longest she had encountered. The tribunal settled on 12 November, giving senior lawyers at the firm time to step up so clients are not left stranded.
When she returns, a Law Society-nominated senior practitioner will supervise her monthly for a year, at her own expense.
