WHEN SOLICITORS MISBEHAVE.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1272, 30 October 1911, Page 3

WHEN SOLICITORS MISBEHAVE.

CORRECTIVE TRIBUNAL. An interesting statement was made by Sir Joshua Williams in tho Court of Appeal on Saturday, when delivering judgment in the J. R. Lundon case. His Honour said:—"We may observe, that, to justify tho exercise by this Court of its disciplinary jurisdiction over members of the legal profession, it is not necessary that it should havo been established that the person whose conduct is under consideration has been guilty of any breach of tho law, criminal or civil. This Court has held, and its adjudication has been affirmed by the Privy Council, that to justify tho suspension of a barrister and solicitor from practice, it is sufficient if this Court considers that tho offender has b?en guilty of serious professional misconduct. It is impossible to define, and it would be extremely unwise to attempt to define, what conduct comes within the meaning of tlieso words. In this community, where tho wliolo disciplinary jurisdiction, which in England is divided betweeu tho Inns of Court and the Judges, is vested in this Court alone, it is of the highest importance that the exercise of that jurisdiction should not be fettered by any attempt lo define its bounds. Nor can the fact that the bounds of that jurisdiction remain undefined injuriously affect the profession over which it extends. Every legal practitioner knows intuitively, or ought to know intuitively, whether or not his acts can justly be regarded as constituting serious professional misconduct. And overy member of the legal profession knows that he has protection in this, that charges of this nature arc never brought before t-lio Court otherwise than upon the initiative of those members of his profession who are annually selected as the council of the District Law Society by the whole body of that pri leision, in the district in which he jraitices or has practised.

Tho consideration of such a charge, when it has been so initiated, must always be regarded by the Judges as a matter of grave importance. It is no light matter to take away from a professional man the status which enables him lo earn his livelihood, or even to suspend him from tho right to exercise his profession which that status confers upon him. I! it if it is clear that any member of tho lcgil profession has been guilty of such conduct as to be inimical to tho public welfare, and to bring disgrace upon tho profession to which lie bclonss, then,

whether an offenco against the law has be;n established or not, justico must take iti course, without regard to its effect upon the offender,"