Acting Chief Justice Salesi Temo yesterday advised 20 newly-admitted lawyers who graduated from the Fiji National University to learn from the mistakes of some senior member of the legal fraternity who fell short of standards expected of them.
Justice Temo said one such case was that of the former Electoral Commission chairman Suresh Chandra.
Mr Chandra was charged by the Independent Legal Services Commission for six counts of professional misconduct for unreconciled money amounting to $2.139 million and found guilty of five of those charges.
It was found that he, as principal of his law firm, failed to keep proper accounting records, failed ensure the money kept in the firm’s trust account were not used for unauthorised purposes, failed to properly monitor all transactions made from the firm resulting in an unreconciled money.
The law firm was directed to cease operations immediately and Mr Chandra was fined $500,000 to settle the amounts due to the clients of MC Lawyers.
Mr Chandra’s name was also struck from the roll of practitioners held by the Chief Registrar.
Justice Temo said he was not telling the newly-admitted lawyers this to defame Mr Chandra but highlight why they should get to know the Rules of Professional Conduct and Practice in the Legal Practitioners Act.
“The rules are not put there to beautify the Act (Legal Practitioners Act),” he said. “Study that, when you have spare time read it, because it will guide you in the lonely world of becoming a lawyer.”
