355 / 448
GAZETTE
NOVEMBER 1996
Disciplinary Cases
Re: Thomas Baldwin
practising as Early & Baldwin at
27/28 Marino Mart, Fairview, Dublin 3
at Castlegate, Lord Edward Street,
Dublin 2 and at Stewart Hall, Parnell
Street, Dublin 1.
On 10 June 1996 the President of the
High Court ordered:
i. that Thomas Gerard Baldwin stand
censured;
ii. that the said Thomas Gerard
Baldwin pay a fine of £1,000;
iii. that the said Thomas Gerard
Baldwin pay to the complainant in
the case the sum of £2,408.66 plus
interest to date of payment.
The costs of the hearing before the
Disciplinary Committee and the
presentation of the petition before the
High Court were awarded to the
Society.
The President had before him a report of
the Disciplinary Committee of a hearing
on 5 September 1995 in which the
Committee was of the opinion that there
had been misconduct on the part of the
said Thomas Gerard Baldwin in that he:
a. failed to supervise an unqualified
member of his staff to whom he
had delegated the handling of the
complainant's case;
b. through his gross lack of
supervision of an unqualified
member of his staff caused the
complainant to be deliberately and
seriously misled on a number of
occasions by false information;
c. through his gross lack of
supervision of an unqualified
member of his staff seriously
prejudiced his client, the
complainant, in that whereas the
complainant's case was settled on
18 December 1990 this was not
ruled by the High Court until two
years later on 15 December 1992;
d. as a result of his gross lack of
supervision of an unqualified
member of his staff was unaware
of a letter of 8 August 1991 from
the complainant to his firm fully
appraising him of the
misrepresentations made by an
unqualified member of his staff to
the complainant and the delay in
dealing with the matter;
e. caused further material loss to the
complainant in causing the
complainant to incur further costs
of £655.20 in instructing a new
firm of solicitors in relation to the
case;
f. failed to answer the complainant's
letter to him of 8 August 1991
notwithstanding that that letter
was directed to him as the
principal of his firm and which
letter was written with the purpose
of providing him with an
opportunity of resolving the
matter immediately;
g. allowed two further false
representations to be made to the
complainant by way of letters
dated 20 August 1991 and 14
October 1991 respectively from
his firm;
h. failed to reply to the
complainant's letter of 1
November 1991;
i. failed to reply to the Society's
letters of 16 December 1991 and
18 January 1992;
j. failed to attend a meeting of the
Registrar's Committee on 12
March 1992 when required to do
so;
k. allowed the complainant's file to
be falsified to convey the
impression that the complainant
was at fault rather than the
solicitor's firm in respect of the
delay in having the complainant's
case ruled by the High Court and
further that the solicitor had
corresponded with the Society in
relation to the complaint when he
had not.
•
SOLICITORS ACTS 1954 to 1994
A COMPENDIUM
The complete Solicitors Acts consolidated and referenced
in one volume.
Available from:
Linda Dolan
The Law Society
Blackhall Place, Dublin 7.
Phone: 671 0711
Cost: £15.00 + p.p. £3.20
ENGLISH AGENTS:
Agency work undertaken for Irish
Solicitors in both litigation and
non-contentious matters -
including legal aid.
Fearon & Co., Solicitors,
Westminster House,
12 The Broadway, Woking,
Surrey GU21 5AU.
Tel: 0044 - 1483 - 726272Fax:
0044 - 1483 - 725807
339