Lawyer convicted of fraud still practising:

No move to have woman struck off roll, four years after being found guilty

Disciplinary proceedings against a convicted Eastern Cape lawyer have lagged for so long, she is still practising four years after she was found guilty of fraud.

While those behind Julia Mfundisi’s successful prosecution struggle to have her struck from the roll of attorneys, there is nothing preventing the woman from practising until the Legal Practice Council (LPC) steps in.

As recently as yesterday, Mfundisi acted as a correspondent for a review application in Makhanda.

Mfundisi and her attorney, Daniel Mili, agreed they had never been informed of any disciplinary action from the LPC.

Until told otherwise, Mfundisi could go on as normal, Mili said.

LPC director for the Eastern Cape, Alfred Hona, did not respond to a request for comment. The fraud conviction dates back to January 2017, when Mfundisi was found guilty by the Port Elizabeth Commercial Crimes Court of having defrauded a claimant of the Road Accident Fund (RAF).

The man had lost his leg as a result of a serious motor vehicle accident in September 2009.

Mfundisi was subsequently sentenced to three years’ imprisonment or a fine of R100,000, which she opted to pay.

It was found that after meeting Mncedi Dyosi on a roadshow project in July 2014, she failed to inform him that he was entitled to claim for his future loss of income and that he qualified for a direct claim, which meant he would not require an attorney or be expected to pay the added legal fees.

Mfundisi was employed at the RAF at the time.

Part of her duties involved helping the direct claimants institute claims, fill in forms, see doctors and obtain accident reports.

Dyosi initially appointed attorneys to lodge a third party claim against the RAF on his behalf, but ultimately ended their mandate.

He then approached the RAF directly and became a selfclaimant.

During the trial it unfolded how in August 2014, Mfundisi visited Dyosi at his home and incorrectly informed him that the RAF would only compensate him for injuries, and not for future loss of income.

She then offered to help him institute a claim for loss of future income and gave Dyosi documents to sign, which he said he never read. He realised later he had unwittingly appointed a legal firm to represent him and had signed a contingency fee agreement of 25% in favour of the said attorneys.

Her actions caused serious financial implications for Dyosi, as well as the RAF.

After her arrest by the Hawks in 2015, Mfundisi resigned from the RAF to open her own practice.

Then, upon conviction in 2017, she was reported to the Cape Law Society (CLS), now known as the LPC.

While the CLS indicated that nothing could be done until Mfundisi had exhausted all legal remedies, by June last year, her bids for an appeal had been turned down by the high court, Supreme Court of Appeal and finally the Constitutional Court, putting an end to the drawn-out process on June 6 last year.

Even then, she continued to practise law and represent clients in court.