A "self-pitying" Hawkes Bay lawyer has been struck off the roll of barristers and solicitors after being found to have breached his duties to a client who subsequently lost her home.
The New Zealand Lawyers and Conveyancers Disciplinary Tribunal yesterday ordered that Gerald George McKay be struck off.
McKay, 72, acted for a number of parties in a series of transactions where there were strongly conflicting interests, the tribunal chair Judge Dale Clarkson said.
The woman who complained about McKay was not provided with independent advice and the consequence of this was she lost her home -- which was her only asset.
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Advertise with NZME.The tribunal in May said that McKay's conduct was an abuse of his position as a lawyer and a serious breach of his duties to the woman. McKay is appealing the misconduct decision finding that was made against him.
"Mr McKay's failures to this client were many and obvious. The consequences to her of his failures were devastating. He enabled her home to be purchased by another client at a gross undervalue," Judge Clarkson said in the decision on penalty.
According to the tribunal, McKay's defence involved an attack on the honesty and integrity of his client.
"We considered that Mr McKay attempted sophistry and at times plain untruthfulness to escape facing up to the responsibility of his acting in this position of irremediable conflict," the tribunal said.
The tribunal said McKay's submissions on what penalty was appropriate "lacked any element of remorse or insight into his failures".
"They were self-pitying and relentlessly self-absorbed," the decision said.
Although McKay said he wanted a second chance, the tribunal considered his striking-off was necessary.
"We can have no confidence that Mr McKay would not, if able to continue to practise, repeat his actions, given his sense of self-righteousness and justification for his actions," Judge Clarkson said.
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Advertise with NZME.McKay, as well as being struck-off, was ordered to contribute $70,000 to costs and reimburse the Law Society $14,812 for hearing costs.
"This particular lawyer strayed so far from the path of professionalism that he can justifiably be said to have ceased to function meaningfully as a lawyer at all. It is rightly expected that lawyers act for their clients without conflict of interest or any form of bias," New Zealand Law Society President Chris Moore said.
"The vast majority of New Zealand lawyers act independently and in the best interests of their clients by providing exceptional service which is totally focused on their clients' interests."
