The ACT Supreme Court found there was a “solid foundation” to remove a barrister and solicitor from the roll, including for his unfounded willingness to shift blame onto other practitioners.
The Supreme Court bench scrubbed Hugh Russell Ford’s name from the roll of legal practitioners after the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal (ACAT) found he engaged in 24 counts of professional misconduct and two counts of unsatisfactory professional conduct.
Ford, who was admitted as a barrister and solicitor in 1995, had unsuccessfully attempted to prevent the strike-off from happening.According to the recent judgment, Ford’s misconduct ranged from a failure to comply with the Law Society, recklessly making misleading statements in the Federal Circuit Court, and making unsubstantiated allegations of improper conduct against a judge.
Justice David Mossop, Justice Verity McWilliam and acting Judge Ann Ainslie-Wallace said Ford was in an “unfortunate position” because there was a “solid foundation” to justify the strike-off, and he demonstrated “no significant appreciation” of his misconduct.
“The combination of persistent failures to meet the standards required of a legal practitioner and the absence of insight into those failures compels the conclusion that he is not fit to remain on the roll,” Justices Mossop and McWilliams and acting Judge Ainslie-Wallace said.
