51 / 336
1. Every solicitor shall keep such books and
account as may be necessary to show in con-
nection with his practice all moneys received
from or on account of and all moneys paid to
or on account of each of his rlicnts;
2. Every solicitor shall at least once in each year
prepare such Balance Sheet and Statement in
connection with his practice as will show in
summary form all moneys held for or on account
his clients and where and how at the date of
such Balance Sheet and Statement he holds said
moneys in safe-keeping and available for
Payment."
Section 34 provides that if any solicitor fails or
e
glects to observe or comply with any of the
i l l a t i o n s made under the last preceding section the
ciety or any person may make a complaint in
Aspect of that failure or neglect to the Committee,
meaning the Disciplinary Committee.
Another complaint concerned the false declaration
allegedly made by the solicitor in order to obtain a
P
I
a
^
t , s i n
8 certificate for the year ending 5th January,
72- To make such a declaration wilfully has been
e i d
to be unbefitting conduct in England and is
covered by section 19 of our Act generally. Failure to
obtain a practising certificate and holding oneself out
hereafter as a practising solicitor is covered speci-
a l l y by section 38 and section 39 of the Act.
.
n
looking at these charges I am conscious that
bey
m u s t b e p r o v e (
j 5
e
y
0 n (
j reasonable doubt since
e
y affect a solicitor in a criminal or quasi-criminal
^ ay and arc of great moment to him professionally.
find all the charges to have been proved. Looking
a
the first charge it is obvious that no proper
fecounts were kept and, so far as the second charge
Is C o n c
e r ned, it is quite clear that there has been no
P
r
°per Balance Sheet and Statement as required by
J"
e
gulation 2. One can see that quite easily from look-
I n g a t
the correspondence, with notice of which the
oiicitor was affected because he was told of its
°
n
* n t s , and by looking at the report of Messrs.
jMkinson and Boyd, which was similarly brought to
, s
notice. These are serious matters and one can
appreciate that from the fact that the Legislature has
applied the provisions of Part II of the Act (of which
etion 21 is a part) to complaints in relation to
section 34.
The third charge is connected with making a false
^ t i o n , viz. that proper accounts had been kept,
mch is a necessary declaration to make in order to
fal
a p r a c t i s i n
S certificate. I am satisfied that the
:
declaration was wilfully made and not
nadvertently. It may be that the solicitor did not
ppreciate the gravity of the false declaration but I
™ quite clear that he did appreciate its falsity. I
0 n ]
n o t a c c
e p t his explanation, the lameness of which
y serves to show that it is not true,
a s l-
1
?
t h e f o u r t h
charge of holding himself out as
is cl
C l t
°
r W h e n h e h a d n o
P
r a c t i s i n
S certificate, it
solir>
ar t 0 m e t h a t a m a n o f t h e
experience of this
not h
W a s d o i n g t h i s
deliberately and that he could
wo u l d !
6 p r o d u c e d
the accounts in good faith which
have properly led him to be granted a practis-
ing certificate for the years imding 5th January, 1973
and 1974.
I come now to the fifth charge which is one of
failing to reply to the Law Society's queries. This
again has been held to be unbefitting conduct in
England and is undoubtedly covered by section 19
of our Act. I hasten to add that I am not concerned
here with an alleged breach of duty to the solicitor's
clients, although in fact the Law Society's queries
originated from complaints made by the clients of
the solicitor which mainly concerned his alleged
delays in dealing with their affairs. I am not, however,
to-day concerned with this and I appreciate that com-
plaints of this kind may be well-grounded or other-
wise in different circumstances. It is not important
for that reason, and that reason only, for me to
comment on the relationship between a solicitor and
his client for the purpose of this hearing.
Having found all these charges proved, I have to
consider the appropriate step to take under section
21. I do not think that a fine is the appropriate
remedy. That solution may sometimes be used, as
may censure, to act as a sharp reminder to a solicitor
who has erred but who may safely be permitted to
continue in practice when one has marked the
occasion of is default. The choice here is between
suspension and directing the striking off of the name
of this solicitor from the rolls. In making that choice
I bear in mind that on the evidence before me no
turpitude involving clients has been shown. There
is no evidence of repetition in the face of previous
warnings or previous punishments. 1 take into con-
sideration the bomb damage to this solicitor's office.
It does not provide an excuse, but it is a strong
ground of sympathy with him. I digress to say that
about a year ago I ordered the suspension until
further order of another solicitor from Londonderry,
a Mr. Thompson. The circumstances were somewhat
different in that the complaint did not come to me
as a result of a hearing in front of the Disciplinary
Committee but directly based on section 39, which
dealt with holding himself out as a solicitor without
having a practising certificate. The order was made
to suspend that solicitor until further order because
he was so practising and required to be stopped from
doing so. Therefore there is no real parallel to be
drawn, but at the time there is a relative standard
of justice which appeals to the ordinary man and
which militates against my striking the name of this
solicitor off the rolls when I consider that all that
I was asked to do under section 39 in the circum-
stances of Mr. Thompson's case was to suspend him
from practice.
This solicitor has evinced the inability to carry
out the ordinary routine of a solicitor's practice. It
may be partly or largely due to the performance of
his duties as a coroner but, whatever may be the
reason, there is a danger to the public in allowing a
solicitor who has reached that stage to continue to
hold himself out as a practising solicitor. One has to
deal here with an accumulation of serious breaches
of a solicitor's duty and serious defaults which
indicate that he is not in a position to carry out his
duties to the public in an adequate manner and
47