Tim Ban Choon Tee struck off roll

2 August 2013

Tim Ban Choon Tee struck off roll

Tim Ban Choon Tee has been struck off the roll of barristers and solicitors of the High Court of New Zealand by the New Zealand Lawyers and Conveyancers Disciplinary Tribunal.

This follows the tribunal’s earlier finding in April 2013 that three charges brought against Mr Tee by the New Zealand Law Society’s Canterbury-Westland Standards Committee had been proven.

Mr Tee was found to have breached trust account requirements and professional obligations in respect of three clients.

These breaches included taking $1,400 of client funds in a trust account and applying them for his own purposes, personally borrowing $52,000 from a client without raising the need for independent advice, and receiving $10,000 from a client without properly accounting for it.

Law Society President Chris Moore said Mr Tee’s conduct had breached the high standards of client care required of all lawyers.

“The Lawyers Conduct and Client Care Rules state that, subject to their overriding duty as officers of the High Court, it is a fundamental obligation for lawyers to protect the interests of their clients,” Mr Moore said.

“Lawyers who fail to do this let down anyone who needs legal services and also New Zealand’s legal profession.”

Mr Moore said the vast majority of New Zealand lawyers maintained very high standards of conduct. The Law Society would continue to focus on assuring those standards for the benefit of all New Zealanders by investigating and prosecuting any lawyer who breached them.

He said it appeared that Mr Tee had been adjudged bankrupt and was no longer resident in New Zealand.

ENDS

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