Lawyer cops reprimand

A FORMER North Queensland lawyer engaged in professional misconduct linked to her management of the firm’s bank account.

Michelle Cherie Harrington, the sole practitioner of the Ayr-based Harrington Legal, has been publicly reprimanded after she was found to have failed to properly manage the business’s trust account over several years.

The former solicitor also failed in a bid to have her identity suppressed and was refused anonymity in the misconduct proceedings.

In a decision handed down late last month, Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal president Martin Daubney found Harrington engaged in professional misconduct on five instances over several years.

Further, Justice Daubney found two other instances of unsatisfactory professional conduct.

One of the misconduct charges stems from Harrington’s “failure of competence and diligence with respect to the management of (the) trust account”, including failures to issue trust account receipts in a timely fashion and failing to conduct proper trust account reconciliations.

Court documents show that when the regulatory body, the Queensland Law Society, stepped in to audit the firm’s records an investigator was “unable to form an opinion” because the firm failed to provide files, invoices, trust account authorities and costs agreements.

This failure was a contravention of the Legal Profession Act.

Further details of Harrington’s misconduct was detailed to the court, including her failure to comply with notices issued by regulatory bodies without reasonable excuse and breaching a condition of her practising certificate.

Harrington did not dispute the allegations against her, court documents say.

In his findings, Justice Daubney said that Harrington had not acted as a lawyer since her practising certificate was cancelled in March 2019 and that she indicated to the court that she had “no intention” of returning to the industry.

“(Harrington) did not have a reasonable excuse for her failures to comply,” Justice Daubney found, but noted that at the time Harrington was “distracted by significant events” in her personal and professional life, including the 2019 Townsville floods.

“(She) recognises that she tried to manage her own trust account, but in hindsight … should have employed an accountant to attend to that role,” Justice Daubney said.

“She was experiencing financial hardship and thought unwisely that she could do it all on her own.”

While issuing Harrington a public reprimand, Justice Daubney noted that she was still fit to regain her practising certificate, albeit with conditions attached.

Justice Daubney rejected Harrington’s request for a non-publication order and ruled there was a “clear public interest” in the matter.