Twigley also contended that the Law Society was not bound to participate in the proceedings and thereby could have avoided costs. However, the tribunal rejected that argument, saying the regulatory role of the Law Society was “a very important one”.
It agreed with the society that the full costs of the proceedings should not fall on the profession, in an application where the burden of proving suitability for restoration rested on the applicant.
However, the tribunal also noted costs needed to be just and befitting the circumstances of the case. It accepted Twigley’s limited financial means and therefore the costs it set would only be a “very modest” sum.
It noted that in civil proceedings like this it was standard for costs to be paid to the successful party but that there was no pre-established scale of rates for these specific types of matters because applications for restoration as a lawyer were relatively rare.
Twigley previously ran a practice called Eastland Legal, which had a branch in Gisborne and one in Mount Maunganui. He was struck off in 2016 after being found guilty by the tribunal of misconduct. Evidence showed he had borrowed large amounts of money from some clients and embezzled thousands from others in order to keep his business afloat.
He had not repaid the money or apologised for his actions.
During the earlier hearing dealing with his application to be reinstated, Twigley vowed never to repeat his dishonest actions and said he had “made some really fundamental mistakes” but had never intentionally focused on breaking the law.
“What happened in 2014 was a complete mess but it happened because I wasn’t thinking the right way.”
He said the catalyst for his unravelling back then had been his financial difficulties after a divorce and three bankruptcies.
“Having gone through this nightmare and realised how stupid I was there’s no way in the world I would go near a client to borrow money again.
“I can see that so clearly now but at the time I had my priorities all wrong. I was deluded.”
His counsel Simon Jefferson argued redemption was possible and that the bar shouldn’t be set so high that is was impossible for someone to get back in. Twigley wasn’t saying he had been punished enough but that he was rehabilitated.
Other lawyers had been granted practising certificates despite having much more serious blemishes on their records, Mr Jefferson said. Twigley, for instance, had not caused anyone any physical harm.
The tribunal noted it had previously made orders that other lawyers pay their debts before being granted a practising certificate. Jefferson said Twigley was “skint”.
Opposing the application for reinstatement, counsel Paul Collins for the standards committee said Twigley could not be trusted again. He was “excessively ambitious” but lacked basic business management skills, the reason why he got into hot water financially.
Mr Collins noted Twigley had failed to tell the tribunal about his bankruptcies.
Asked by Collins if he had studied New Zealand law since being struck off, Twigley said he had reviewed his old files periodically and provided informal legal advice to his friends and family members.
In its decision not to reinstate Twigley, the tribunal said it was concerned about a lack of evidence, which would indicate the sort of planning and safeguards to ensure he could “withstand ethical and financial pressures in future…”.
Read more: https://www.gisborneherald.co.nz/news/lawyers-misconduct-high-end
