A lawyer convicted of drink driving and driving while his licence was suspended has been charged with misconduct and fined $3000 by the Lawyers and Conveyancers Disciplinary Tribunal.
David Fordyce will also have to pay costs, as yet to be quantified, to the Canterbury Westlands Standards Committee. The committee had originally sought a fine of $7000.
The tribunal, deputy chairman John Adams and members Graham McKenzie, Reina Va’ai, Professor Dugald Scott and Marjorie Noble, found Fordyce guilty under s 241(D) of the Lawyers and Conveyancers Act 2006. This enables an order to be made against a practitioner who has been convicted of an offence punishable by imprisonment and where the conviction reflects on his or her fitness to practise or tends to brings the profession into disrepute.
Fordyce’s lawyer Costas Matsis said his client’s misconduct was related to issues in his personal, rather than his professional, life. Fordyce had a “blemish-free” 34-year career, had acknowledged the charges against him were serious and took responsibility for his poor choices by pleading guilty. “He is embarrassed by his actions,” Matsis said. His client was taking steps to ensure the conduct did not re-occur.
Adams acknowledged Fordyce’s immaculate professional record, but said s 241(D) did apply to his situation.
0 Comments