Australian barrister struck from roll over claims ‘of most serious kind’ against solicitor | Practice Source - Legal News and Views

Australian Lawyers Weekly

A barrister who once accused a tribunal member of “staring at him” and tried to have an entire bench recused has been removed from the roll of legal practitioners for making baseless accusations “of the most serious kind” against an opposing solicitor.

Having determined it was the only way to protect the public and confidence in the administration of justice, the NSW Court of Appeal made an order to remove the name of Christian Roger de Robillard’s name from the NSW Supreme Court’s roll of legal practitioners.

While Justice Mark Leeming found the NSW Bar Council had failed to discharge its onus by proving de Robillard is unfit to practise, Justice Anthony Gleeson and acting Judge John Griffiths said he should be removed as he “is probably permanently unit to practise”.The crux of the case arose from de Robillard’s conduct in 2016 equity division proceedings, in which he made baseless accusations that the opposing solicitor had “overstepped his function as a lawyer” and aided and abetted his client in breaches of the Corporations Act.

“The conduct of de Robillard, the subject of the finding of professional misconduct, was of the most serious kind, and is aggregated by … the failure to demonstrate insight as to the impropriety of his conduct, and absence of contrition,” Justice Gleeson and acting Judge Griffiths said in written reasons.

De Robillard had attempted to appeal the professional misconduct finding, originally made by the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) in December 2021. However, he only succeeded in overturning a finding of unsatisfactory professional conduct.