Solicitor Disciplinary Tribunal Decisions

Details for Pamela Wall

Name

Pamela Wall

Address

8 Carmody Street, Ennis, Co Clare

Date of Order

10/12/2012

Decision

In the matter of Pamela Wall, solicitor, formerly of 8 Carmody Street, Ennis, Co Clare, and in the matter of the Solicitors Acts 1954-2008 [6728/DT88/11 and 2012 no 75 SA]

Law Society of Ireland (applicant)

Pamela Wall (respondent solicitor)

On 10 July 2012, the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal found the respondent solicitor guilty of misconduct in her practice as a solicitor in that she:

1)      Failed to maintain proper books of account in respect of her practice, insofar as books were not kept written up to date, transfers between ledger accounts were back-dated, and some ledger accounts did not show the true financial position, in breach of regulation 12,

2)     Failed to maintain books of account sufficient to allow the true clients’ funds position in her practice to be determined at the time of the Society’s inspections in December 2007 and February 2008,

3)     Caused or allowed clients’ moneys of €312,429 to be improperly lodged to an account that was not designated as a client account, in breach of regulation 4, and instead caused or allowed the money to be held in a joint account bearing her name and that of a person who worked in her office,

4)     Improperly caused or allowed the Society’s investigating accountant to be presented with in or about 23 section 68(1) letters, which were created after notification of the investigation issued in July 2007 but which were backdated to dates between 12 September 2005 and 14 March 2007, thereby giving the misleading appearance of compliance with section 68(1),

5)      Improperly caused or allowed up to €651 of clients’ money from a named client ledger account to be drawn to the office account by way of transfers on 29 September 2005 and 10 November 2005,

6) Improperly caused or allowed in or about €111.04 of client’s money, which was received to pay for outlay, to be transferred from a named client ledger account to the office account on 10 November 2005, which money was not disbursed for outlay,

7)      Improperly caused or allowed €8,000 of clients’ monies to be drawn from the client account to the office account on 19 December 2005, creating a debit balance of €8,000 on a named client ledger account, in breach of regulation 7,

8)     Improperly caused or allowed €140,500 to be drawn from a named client ledger account in round sum amounts from in or about 3 January 2006 to 28 July 2006 without having issued bills of costs or interim bills of costs to the client, in breach of regulation 11,

9)      Improperly caused or allowed clients’ money of €4,367.50 to be drawn from the client account to the office account on 4 September 2006, causing debit balances of €4,367.50 on three clients’ ledger accounts, in breach of regulation 7,

10)   Improperly caused or allowed up to €4,748 of clients’ money received from deposits in sales to be drawn to the office account on 4 September 2006,

11)    Improperly caused or allowed €4,098.59 to be drawn from the client account to the office account on 15 September 2006, causing debit balances on the clients’ ledger accounts, in breach of regulation 7,

12) Improperly caused or allowed €1,439.78 of clients’ money to be drawn from the client account to the office account on 21 November 2006, causing a debit balance of €1,439.78 on a named client ledger account, in breach of regulation 7,

13)    Improperly caused or allowed €3,000 of clients’ money to be drawn from the client account to the office account on 30 November 2006 and the debit balance on a named clients’ ledger account to increase to €4,439.78, in breach of regulation 7,

14)    Improperly caused or allowed €1,075.50 of clients’ money to be drawn from the client account to the office account on 5 December 2006 and the debit balance on a named clients’ ledger account to increase to €5,515.28, in breach of regulation 7,

15)    Improperly caused or allowed €5,000 of clients’ money to be drawn from the client account to the office account on 5 January 2007, increasing the debit balance on the deposit interest account in the clients’ ledger to €8,383.54, in breach of regulation 7,

16)   Improperly caused or allowed €6,955 of a named clients’ money to be lodged to the office account over a period from 15 August 2005 to 5 December 2005,

17)   Caused or allowed debit balances in the clients’ ledger account and moneys to be incorrectly transferred to the office account, totalling €52,325.57 as at 30 May 2007,

18) Drew various round sum amounts totalling €148,500 from client account to office account over a period from December 2005 to July 2006, which were debited to a named clients’ ledger account with no supporting documentation in the client’s files, in breach of regulation 12,

19) Improperly caused or allowed monies to be drawn as fees from a named clients’ ledger account for work that had not yet been carried out,

20)    Furnished the Registrar of Solicitors with false or misleading information in a written response in October 2007 concerning a total of in or about €47,000 drawn from a named clients’ ledger account, when she stated that the monies drawn were the repayment of a loan given to the named client by the respondent solicitor and her parents,

21)   Caused or allowed false or misleading documentation to be created and retained on a named client file, namely a file memo dated 9 August 2005 stating that there was “a sum of €20,000 due to [named persons] re an historic loan” and “a sum of €30,000 due to P Wall re an historic loan”; a receipt stating that the amount of €19,810 drawn from the client account was the repayment of a loan; and a receipt stating that the amount of €27,150 drawn from the client account was the repayment of a loan,

22)    Improperly caused or allowed transfers between clients’ ledger accounts of €5,833.30 and €19,810.53 to be backdated in the books of account from in or after April 2007 to September and October 2006, having the effect of concealing debit balances on a named clients’ ledger account,

23)   Improperly caused or allowed transfers between ledger accounts of €10,000 and €15,000 to be backdated in the books of account from in or after April 2007 to 7 November 2006 and 13 November 2006,

24)    Improperly caused or allowed €5,942.36 of clients’ money to be taken from the client account for her own benefit on 30 July 2007, when she caused a debit balance of that amount on a named clients’ ledger account, in breach of regulation 7,

25)   Improperly caused or allowed €20,000 of clients’ money to be drawn from the client account on 28 January 2003 and created a debit balance in that amount on a named client ledger account, in breach of regulation 7, according to the books of account maintained by the respondent as detailed in the investigation report of 17 January 2008,

26)   Improperly caused or allowed €25,394.76 of clients’ money to be drawn from the client account on 11 March 2003 and created a debit balance in that amount on a named client ledger account, in breach of regulation 7, according to the books of account maintained by the respondent as detailed in the investigation report of 17 January 2008,

27)   Improperly caused or allowed monies to be drawn from a deposit in a sale received in a named client’s estate, causing a deficit of €18,668 on the client account on 30 June 2007,

28)   Caused or allowed €32,991.21 to be drawn from client account to office account in the matter of a named clients’ estate, in circumstances where her costs amounted to only €27,030.40 according to the executor’s account, and thereby improperly caused clients’ money of in or about €5,960.81 to be drawn to the office account,

29)    Improperly caused or allowed the recording of a figure of €145,200 for costs in a client matter to be backdated by in or about ten months on the debit side of the office ledger,

30) Improperly caused or allowed a debit balance of €13,851.61 on a named client ledger account, in breach of regulation 7, according to the books of account maintained by the respondent as detailed in the investigation report of 17 January 2008, over the period from 27 February 2001 to 7 December 2001, which debit balance included €7,259.73 of other clients’ moneys drawn to the office account as fees,

31) Improperly failed to maintain any or adequate documentation in the clients’ files to enable drawings of fees from a named client ledger account to be appropriately vouched,

32) Improperly caused or allowed a debit balance on a named client ledger account of €48,757.94 on 28 August 2002 and a debit balance of €47,814.10 on 22 May 2003, which increased to €76,846.84 on 20 June 2003, in breach of regulation 7, according to the books of account maintained by the respondent as detailed in the investigation report of 17 January 2008,

33)   Improperly caused or allowed a debit balance on a client ledger account in her name of €1,234.02 between 23 October 2002 and 15 April 2003, in breach of regulation 7, which debit balance was concealed by a credit entry incorrectly dated 15 April 2002,

34)   Failed to disclose relevant documentation during the investigation in December 2007, namely ledger cards for a named client,

35)   Caused or allowed €14,520 of clients’ money to be incorrectly drawn from client account to office account in a named clients’ estate in May 2007, creating a deficit of €14,520 in the estate ledger account, which was cleared on or about 27 August 2007,

36)   Caused or allowed two section 68(1) letters to be created in respect of a named client’s estate on 4 September 2007, two days before the Society’s investigation commenced, which were backdated to 24 November 2006 and placed on the client file between documents dated 22 November 2006 and 22 December 2006, thereby misleadingly appearing to have been created in November 2006,

37)   Improperly caused or allowed a net debit balance to arise on a named clients’ ledger accounts over a period, which amounted to €49,441.63 at 30 April 2002, according to the books of account maintained by her as detailed in the investigation report of 13 March 2008,

38)   Improperly caused or allowed IR£5,000 of clients’ money to be drawn from the client account on 17 May 2001 and created a debit balance in that amount on a named client ledger account, in breach of regulation 7(2)(a), according to the books of account maintained by her as detailed in the investigation report of 13 March 2008,

39)   Improperly caused or allowed €19,001.81 of clients’ money from a named client ledger account to be transferred from the client account to the office account on or about 11 February 2002, as part of a sum of €20,000, as detailed in the investigation report of 13 March 2008,

40)   Improperly used clients’ money of IR£4,668.05 on 13 September 2000, when she paid a client account cheque for IR£5,250 to named piano retailers and caused a debit balance on her account in the clients’ ledger, in breach of regulation 7(2)(a), according to the books of account maintained by the respondent as detailed in the investigation report of 13 March 2008,

41)   Improperly caused or allowed the net debit balance on her clients’ ledger accounts to increase from IR£4,668.05 to IR£12,668.05 on 18 September 2000, according to the books of account maintained by the respondent as detailed in the investigation report of 13 March 2008,

42) Misleadingly sent to a named client and a named bank in November 2001 a schedule of monies stating that she was holding a balance of IR£2,186.26 at that date, when the clients’ ledger account showed a debit balance of IR£10,909.03 at that date,

43)   Misleadingly informed a named bank in writing on 18 May 2004 that she was holding a balance of €73,000 relating to a named client, when some or all of that money had already been drawn to the office account, in breach of the regulations,

44)   Caused or allowed €72,912 to be drawn as fees from a named client ledger account to the office account without furnishing bill(s) of costs in accordance with regulation 11,

45)   Improperly caused or allowed a total of €114,154.87 to be drawn from a named clients’ ledger account in circumstances where the final bill of costs subsequently prepared in respect of that client, dated September 2008, only totalled €99,201.59 – a difference of €14,953.28,

46)   Caused or allowed a deficit on the client account of in or about €3,918.49 at 30 April 2001, as per the books of account detailed in the investigation report of 20 May 2008,

47)   Failed to ensure that debit balances of in or about €20,624.05 that she caused or allowed to arise over a period of months leading up to 29 April 2001 were disclosed as a breach of the regulations in the accountant’s report for year ended 30 April 2001,

48) Caused or allowed debit balances to arise on her account in the clients’ ledger of in or about €13,769.48 at 29 April 2001, €4,804.69 in November 2000 and €9,989.19 in January 2001, in breach of regulation 7, as per the books of account detailed in the investigation report of 20 May 2008,

49)   Caused or allowed a deficit of at least in or about €23,938.39 in the client account at 30 April 2002, as per the books of account detailed in the investigation report of 20 May 2008,

50)   Improperly caused or allowed a round sum transfer of IR£10,000 to be made from the client account to the office account on 21 September 2001, which led to debit balances on the following accounts, in breach of regulation 7(2)(a): €279.47 on a named client ledger account, €385.85 on another named client ledger account, €177.78 on another named client ledger account, €759.30 on another named client ledger account, €1,767.48 on another named client ledger account, and €261.16 on another named client ledger account, as per the books of account detailed in the investigation report of 20 May 2008,

51)   Caused or allowed a deficit of in or about €68,511.98 in the client account at 30 April 2003, as per the books of account detailed in the investigation report of 20 May 2008,

52)    Improperly caused or allowed debit balances totalling at least in or about €111,557.53 and up to in or about €115,569.96 in the clients’ ledger at 30 April 2004, in breach of regulation 7(2)(a), as per the books of account detailed in the investigation report of 20 May 2008,

53)   Improperly caused or allowed €10,000 of clients’ money to be drawn from the client account to the office account on 6 May 2003, as per the books of account detailed in the investigation report of 20 May 2008,

54)   Improperly caused or allowed €10,000 of clients’ money to be drawn from the client account to the office account on 12 May 2003, as per the books of account detailed in the investigation report of 20 May 2008,

55)   Improperly caused or allowed €6,050 of clients’ money to be drawn from the client account to the office account on 20 May 2003, as per the books of account detailed in the investigation report of 20 May 2008,

56)   Caused or allowed a deficit on the client account of in or about €26,086 at 31 March 2005,

57)   Improperly caused or allowed debit balances of in or about €99,843 to arise in the clients’ ledger in the period up to 31 March 2005,

58)   Improperly left client liabilities of in or about €26,086 unpaid as at 31 March 2005, when her then practice ceased with no remaining monies in her client account,

59)   Improperly caused or allowed monies totalling in or about €146,956.99 to be drawn from a named client ledger account, in breach of the regulations, without having issued bills of costs, as per the books of account detailed in the investigation report of 20 May 2008.

The tribunal ordered that the matter go forward to the High Court, and the President of the High Court, on 10 December 2012, made the following orders by consent:

1) The respondent solicitor be suspended from practising as a solicitor indefinitely,

2) The respondent do pay the Society’s agreed costs of the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal proceedings,

3) The respondent do pay the Society’s agreed costs of the High Court proceedings,

4) Liberty to both parties to apply in respect of the question of costs.