Lawyer seeks open justice

Lawyer Frank Deliu. Photo / Herald on Sunday

An emergency call for police help at the New Zealand Law Society offices has turned into an 18-month legal battle.

Lawyer Frank Deliu has tied the Law Society's disciplinary process in knots after being told he was under investigation for behaviour unbecoming of a lawyer.

The investigation followed a meeting at which Deliu and another lawyer, Evgeny Orlov, were accused of behaving in a threatening manner.

They had turned up at the Auckland offices for a hearing on a separate complaint against Orlov. Police were called and a fresh investigation launched.

Now Deliu wants to know why he and his friend have been targeted when the society has taken no action over more serious cases - including a scrap between two lawyers at a "Meet the Judiciary" function that had to be broken up by a judge.

The process of disciplining lawyers is shrouded in secrecy. A Law Society spokeswoman refused to reveal whether there was a complaint against Romanian-born Deliu, or any other lawyer, before its professional standards' body.

But Deliu said the system should be public and invited the Herald on Sunday to one of his hearings last week - a review meeting by the Legal Complaints Review Officer. The reporter was told to leave after five minutes.

The saga began in October 2008 when the Law Society's Auckland disciplinary committee met to hear a complaint about Orlov, said Deliu.

Papers supplied to the Herald on Sunday show that Deliu and Orlov were not invited to the meeting but turned up anyway. They were then told they were not entitled to hear details of the accusation against Orlov. Deliu was there as his lawyer.

A report based on a eight-month investigation by a Meredith Connell lawyer - charged to the Law Society at $180 an hour - found that when Deliu and Orlov arrived the meeting was closed and police called. No charges were laid and the pair, who Deliu said were seen as mavericks, were told to leave.

On Crown Solicitor's letterhead paper, investigating lawyer Joshua Shaw of Meredith Connell, wrote others at the meeting described the pair as "aggressive, belligerent, intimidating and at times threatening".

Orlov and Deliu, in contrast, said they were "polite, calm, measured and reasonable", he said.

Shaw found the committee members' account was likely to be accurate.

The finding led Deliu on a 17-month campaign against what he called "fascist" Law Society procedures.

He said the process was open to favouritism and partial justice - and that his complaints about other lawyers should have been investigated.

Deliu had since forwarded to the society details of a physical fight between lawyers that had to be broken up by a judge, which the society did not investigate. He has also sent details of actions similar to those he was accused of and which have not been investigated.

Deliu had since been advised that he and Orlov would be prosecuted in the Disciplinary Tribunal. One of his complaints was before the Legal Complaints Review Officer - the Ministry of Justice official who hears appeals on complaints against lawyers.

At the hearing on Wednesday from which the Herald on Sunday was ejected, Deliu said: "It does not seem fair to me lawyers should get these special rules. The public is entitled to know what is happening."

Orlov refused to comment.

A Law Society spokeswoman said the process was secret and the society would not even confirm a complaint had been made against a lawyer.