Third solicitor faces charges over client account deficit
Friday November 16 2007
A DUBLIN solicitor who specialises in mortgages and house sales has become the third in a month to have legal proceedings issued against him.
The solicitor, who pleaded for a publicity ban owing to the seriousness of allegations against him, has run up a deficit in his client account, the High Court has heard.
The solicitor, who has agreed not to practice while he is investigated by the Law Society, the governing body for solicitors, is one of at least three solicitors whom the society is expected to take action against, the Irish Independent has learned.
The practices of two Dublin solicitors, Michael Lynn and Thomas Byrne, have already been closed by the Law Society and both have estimated €110m liabilities arising from an alleged mortgage fraud.
Their files have since been referred to the Garda fraud squad by the head of the Commercial Court, Mr Justice Peter Kelly, and criminal investigations into the pair are now underway.
Yesterday the President of the High Court would not release papers in the third case to the media, despite a request by the Law Society for the case to be heard in public to quell rumours circulating about innocent solicitors.
Mr Justice Richard Johnson, who did not grant an in camera order as requested by the unnamed solicitor, said the matters were "serious but not as serious as those in the other cases''.
The judge did not mention the solicitors name, and the documents were not released.
When the case came before the judge, Jack Fitzgerald SC, for the unnamed solicitor, said he was very concerned about publicity in the case and asked that it be heard in private.
But Paul Anthony McDermott BL, for the Law Society, said there was no good reason why the matter should not be heard in public.
Mr McDermott said a public hearing would avoid rumours circulating and other solicitors being put under suspicion. This case did not have the "same level of seriousness'' as the other cases but, if it was heard in private, people might believe it was as serious and the rumours could be worse than the reality.
Counsel also said that a figure, an alleged deficit, had been mentioned in the Society's documents in the case and he had instructions the figure referred to had been reduced to about 20 or 25pc of what was stated.
Mr Justice Johnson said he would not hear the case in private at this point but would also give the respondent solicitor liberty to file an affidavit and would return the case to Monday when Mr Fitzgerald could renew his application to have the case heard in private.
On the facts indicated from the papers to date, he believed the matter should not be heard in private, the judge added.
Mr Fitzgerald said his client's chequebooks had been surrendered to his acting solicitor, there would be no payments out and his client had no problem with an undertaking not to practice.
heavy-duty work weighing up the scales of justice: comment, page 31
- Dearbhail McDonald and Tim Healy
