LEGAL PROFESSION.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 742, 15 February 1910, Page 6

LEGAL PROFESSION.

; f WELLINGTON DISTRICT LAW' SOCIETY. : meeting of tHo Wellington lnroict Law Society' was held yesterday, when the following, officers were elected Mr.- Ed. .vice-president; 'Mr. .£..,0. H.' : treasurer,.-Mr. :;E. H.. Denis (re-elected); council, Professor. Salmond re-elected), Messrs, J. A;-.' Wipe; P. .Levi i (reflected), ;H.- F. von Ilaast (re-elected), and H. H. Ostler; auditor,! Mr. W. I\ Ward;, council of lav-report-' ingi (Wellington members), Mr. F. H; D. Bell,'; K.C.; (reflected),'fan'd, Mr. M. Chap- : man,' K-C^fre-elected), New Zealand .Law' Socieity : (Wellington; members), Mr;y]T. : H. D. Bell, K.CI (re-elected), and Mr. Ed Stafford.• i- - ..; .The' annual report :(which was-adopted)'' states, inter , alia: . "The society, has lost' eight .members :during the' year .' from death' or . other; causes, but, on' the otherhand, •31 new members have been -.' en; rolled. Tho ; numercal strength of 'the society now . totals 223,. an incroase- of 26'. Of;thiese'l22 practise,in the!city;and 101 , in. tho country .towns.... There are only 17 practitioners" in'the, district' who have not joined ■ the society. . The council : has received. five .complaints against solicitors and one;agains£a land broker during .the year.:.' Of. the former; threo being considered of.a frivo!ous ; nature,.were.dismissed. In another case the council' suggested a coiirso 1 for. the future guidance'-of the offender, which, being agreed to bv liim, tho' matter;.was allowed to drop, 'the alleged .'offence. against the land broker hay-. I ing occurred more, than six; months prior, to the complaint being laid,'was found to. be: statute-barred, and so was not inquired into.. Tho sixth, case is still, in hand. The council has also of its own : initiative taken- action : against; a- country .'solicitor recently-found guilty of theft 1 of .money and admitted t to. probation,* with ,a. view i to having his'name struck off < the rolls. The case in which a rule; nisi was reported to have been obtained, last ,year : was further" proceeded with, and, the offender was struck,off,the rolls.,- The.two complaints' against the same land-broker ih'.handlat the date ■of the 'last: report -resulted;-as: follows:—The -first case was not- proceeded with.. In the.second case a,summons fras taken;ont.in,the Magistrate's Court'i' to recover .the. amount .of, the item alleged-' to have been: wrongly charged by. the broker. The 'magistrate, , taking' the same vievf of the 'case as;, the council; gave .judgment against ~ the,, broker ' for the ambunt claimed." " j .; .