Soon after, the administrator found a "confirmation of a settlement" fax which had a smaller, cut out piece of paper sticking to it which showed the lawyer's name, signature and date. She showed the fax to other staff.
When another lawyer complained to Eastzone that the property would not be settled, the administrator told Clifton about the fax. Kumandan claimed she had altered the fax to cover her own shortcomings.
Acting in his own defence, Kumandan, a trained lawyer, said he should keep his licence as no one had lost money. As an immigrant from South Africa and the sole breadwinner of his family, he would not be able to survive without his licence.
Tribunal chairwoman Kate Davenport said standards must be maintained in the industry.
Davenport rejected Kumandan's claims of a racist conspiracy. She also delayed cancelling Kumandan's licence for a month so he could ask the High Court to stay the tribunal's decision pending an appeal.
