MEDIA RELEASE – For immediate use, 13 November 2013

Errol Hamilton Parsons suspended from legal practice for 18 months

The New Zealand Lawyers and Conveyancers Disciplinary Tribunal has suspended Christchurch lawyer Errol Hamilton Parsons from legal practice for a period of 18 months.

The Tribunal found Mr Parsons guilty of misconduct for receiving money from clients and not paying it into a trust account, and failure to keep trust account records.

Any lawyer who holds trust monies or receives money in advance is required to operate a trust account, to comply with the trust account regulations, and to be subject to reviews by the Law Society’s Inspectorate.

The Tribunal considered that Mr Parsons had deliberately embarked on a planned course of conduct intended to avoid the need for a trust account and therefore to avoid complying with the regulations.

A New Zealand Law Society standards committee brought charges against Mr Parsons following investigations by a Law Society Inspector.

It also made a finding of unsatisfactory conduct because he had failed to co-operate with the Law Society’s appointed investigator and the standards committee. The Tribunal found that the “muddled state” of Mr Parson’s practice records did not assist in tracking money movements in and out of his bank accounts.

The President of the New Zealand Law Society, Chris Moore, said it was essential that lawyers who received funds from clients dealt appropriately with them by paying them into a trust account and maintaining adequate records.

“Clients must be able to feel confident about the security of any of their money which is held by a lawyer,” he said.

“The Law Society has an important role in ensuring that all clients of lawyers are protected by a robust system of trust accounting. We take that role very seriously and will not hesitate to investigate any identified irregularities.”

ENDS

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