A solicitor who has been referred to the High Court for striking off the roll of solicitors has not practised for three years, The Irish Timeshas learned.
Niall Colfer, who had a practice in Donaghmede, Dublin, came to the attention of the Law Society in 2004.
In November of that year the society's investigating accountant examined his practice and discovered a "substantial shortfall in clients' funds". On December 2nd, 2004, Mr Colfer gave an undertaking to the society not to practise as a solicitor.
On December 20th of that year the society applied to the High Court for orders that he not reduce his assets below €700,000, which was amended by the court two days later to €1.4 million. The court also ordered that no bank give out funds from any of his accounts without the written permission of the Law Society.
Mr Colfer undertook to hand over his files to the Law Society, not to attend at his premises in Donaghmede, not to practise, and to give the society an account of all his assets and income and expenditure for the previous three years. In March 2005 the costs of both these proceedings were awarded against him.
In June 2005 the result of all these proceedings were reported in the Law Society Gazette. The President of the High Court has now been asked by the Law Society to consider striking him off the roll of solicitors, arising out of the issues first identified in 2004.
This follows a formal finding of the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal on Wednesday that he had been guilty of professional misconduct and should be struck off. It found he had misappropriated funds, including €700,000 from Ancon Design and Development, a company that had engaged him to sell 60 apartments and which also made the complaint.
The president of the High Court will now hear this application, and he will be entitled to argue before it why he should not be struck off. Only the High Court has the authority to strike off a solicitor.
The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal is an independent statutory tribunal appointed by the president of the High Court to consider complaints of misconduct against solicitors. Complaints can be brought either by the Law Society or by aggrieved clients.
If the tribunal finds there has been misconduct, it can censure the solicitor, direct the payment of a sum up to €15,000 to the Law Society's compensation fund and/or a sum up to €15,000 to the aggrieved party, along with the costs of the complainant. Alternatively, it can refer the matter to the High Court, with a recommendation that the solicitor be struck off the roll of solicitors.