Guilty of misconduct

COURT APPEARANCE Solicitors Sean Acton (left) and Michael McDarby leaving court on Bow Street, Dublin, where they recieved fines of @25,000 each for profesional misconduct.  Pic:Arthur Carron

Solicitors guilty of misconduct

Claire Egan

TWO solicitors from a well-known Ballinrobe firm were censured and fined €25,000 plus costs by a disciplinary tribunal after it found they were guilty of a range of professional misconduct charges.
However, the Solicitors’ Disciplinary Tribunal in Dublin ruled that both should not be struck off.
Mr Sean Acton and Mr Michael McDarby, of Michael McDarby & Co, Glebe Street, Ballinrobe were accused of charging fees at a ‘specified percentage’ of monies payable to their clients, contrary to the Solicitors’ (Amendment) Act (1994).
Lengthy investigations by two accountants acting on behalf of the society, in March and November 2004, suggested that in some cases these monies amounted to about ten per cent of funds payable to their clients, with the remainder paid into the clients ordinary accounts.
However, the tribunal found that there was not ample evidence that the men had engaged in this practice and both were found not guilty on this point. Both men were found guilty or pleaded guilty to eight counts of professional misconduct, with Mr McDarby found guilty of a ninth count.
Eight charges included providing misleading information in October 2004 when they were investigated by the Law Society; failing to process solicitor/client fees through the account office; failing to maintain a proper audit trail when handling their clients’ monies, and failing to furnish a bill of costs to clients.
Among the other charges registered against them were failing to record professional fees in their account books; failing to provide clients with details in writing of charges recovered from third parties, and failing to maintain proper books of account.
The ninth count brought against Michael McDarby related to ‘deliberately’ having misled the society’s investigating accountant by denying in August 2004 that solicitor/client fees had been charged, a claim that was subsequently found not to be true.
The case revolved around an investigation into the activities of the solicitors which commenced in March 2004. This examined a total of 120 files, mainly relating to personal injury claims. It found that they had set up ‘special accounts’ in their clients’ names at the Ulster Bank branch in Ballinrobe.