AUCKLAND LAW SOCIETY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXV, Issue 9130, 11 August 1888, Page 3

AUCKLAND LAW SOCIETY.

At the half-yearly meeting of the Auckland Law Society, held in the Supreme Court, yesterday, Mr. E. Hesketh, vice-president in the chair, the following report was submitted and adopted:—

During the past six months, two cases of members charged with professional misconduct have been brought under the notice of the Council, and separate committees were appointed to investigate each case. In one case, on one of the charges, the committee reported that the information and materials necessary to enable the Council to proceed for misconduct were only possessed by one of the members of the Council, who declined to disclose it upon the ground that such information was not his property, but the property of his client, who would lose several hundreds of pounds if the solicitor complained of was proceeded against. After consideration the Council unanimously decided that without the client's consent the solicitor could not disclose the information. In respect of this charge, therefore, the Council have been rendered helpless, and unable to proceed. A further complaint has since been made against the same solicitor, and the Council have given instructions to have this matter placed in the hands of counsel to bring before the Court. In the second case above alluded to, the committee reported that, though it was clear that several members of the community had suffered through the misconduct of the person charged, yet 011 being applied to they absolutely refused to give any evidence or make the necessary affidavits in support of the allegations made, and in this case also the Council were unable to take any further steps in the matter. In the case of Mr. Rigby, which was mentioned at the last general meeting of the Society, an application on behalf of the Society was made some time ago to Mr. Justice Gillies, supported by affidavits which had been received from England, to have Mr. Rigby's name struck oil' the rolls. As Mr. Rigby had in the meantime left the colony, the Court was asked in this case to dispense with personal service upon him. At this point His Honor intimated his intention of consulting the other Judges at Wellington before deciding upon the application. On Wednesday, the 11th instant, Mr. Button, who had made the application, called the attention of Mr. Justice Gillies to the case, and His Honor said that he had spoken to the other Judges 011 the subject, and the majority of them were of opinion that in such a case personal service could not be dispensed with. A new set of rules for the management of the library has been framed, by which the use of the library of an evening will in future be limited to the members of the Society and caretaker of the library, who will see to the closing of the doors of the library at eleven o'clock every night. —Edwin Hesketh, VicePresident.