LEGAL practitioner Vinisoni Filipe has been publicly reprimanded and ordered to pay a $1000 fine after admitting to professional misconduct for failing to respond to statutory notices from the Chief Registrar.
The Independent Legal Services Commission (ILSC) delivered its sanction decision in Suva on September 11, 2026.
Filipe, the principal of Redwood Law, admitted to breaching the Legal Practitioners Act 2009 by failing to answer a notice issued on September 30, 2025, and a subsequent reminder notice on November 4, 2025, regarding a complaint lodged by Prestige Sealink Fiji Pte Ltd.
In written mitigation, Filipe explained that he believed the complaint involved a civil dispute that was being addressed through civil court proceedings. However, ILSC commissioner Justice Daniel Goundar clarified that civil proceedings do not displace a lawyer’s statutory obligation to respond to regulatory notices.
Justice Goundar considered Filipe’s early admission, apology, personal mitigation, and first-offender status, noting that his practising certificate had lapsed on March 27, 2026.
In addition to the public reprimand and $1000 fine, Filipe was ordered to pay $500 in costs and provide a full written response to the Chief Registrar’s notice by September 30, 2026.
The commission further ordered that Filipe shall not be granted a new practising certificate until all fines, costs, and response requirements are fully satisfied.
