Comeskey fights for legal career over misconduct

Chris Comeskey. Photo / Janna Dixon

The high-profile lawyer who helped broker the safe return of the stolen war medals is fighting for his legal career.

Chris Comeskey has pleaded guilty to three professional misconduct charges laid by the New Zealand Law Society, which is now seeking to have him struck off as a lawyer.

He admitted failing to act appropriately as defence counsel for a client, incorrect billing to the Legal Services Agency for the same client and also misleading the Court of Appeal.

A fourth charge laid after Mr Comeskey criticised the judiciary was withdrawn at the Lawyers and Conveyancers Disciplinary Tribunal hearing yesterday.

John Billington, QC, told the tribunal the Law Society would seek to have Mr Comeskey struck off as a lawyer as a punishment for the "serious charges".

Those sanctions will be decided at a hearing next week. Mr Comeskey's lawyer Russell Fairbrother said he would oppose any moves to have his client forced from the legal profession.

"We don't want Chris to be struck off. And in my opinion, he doesn't deserve to be struck off."

Mr Comeskey made international headlines after negotiating the return of the 96 war medals - including the Charles Upham VC - which were stolen from the Waiouru Army Museum in December 2007.

He has also been involved in high-profile cases including those of murderer Joseph Reekers, tagger-killer Bruce Emery and wife-killer Nai Yin Xue.

But yesterday it was Mr Comeskey who was in the witness box.

Under cross-examination by Mr Billington, Mr Comeskey admitted charging one client $3157 - all at the senior rate of $154 an hour - despite his junior counsel doing the work.

The woman, who has name suppression, said she saw Mr Comeskey only once but his junior counsel handled her defence although they were not authorised to by the Legal Services Agency.

The Court of Appeal charge related to oral submissions Mr Comeskey made at the appeal of methamphetamine dealer Xiao Hui Huang.

The Court of Appeal dismissed her appeals against conviction and sentence in March 2008 and rejected Mr Comeskey's criticisms of the Crown case.

In the decision, Justice John Wild said he misled the court.

"Optimistic would be a charitable description of the last of Mr Comeskey's submissions. Misleading would perhaps be a more accurate one.

"Need we mention the importance of counsel accurately stating the position, and being absolutely candid and forthright with the court?"

Mr Comeskey also faced misconduct charges over critical remarks he made in the Herald on Sunday about the courts, judges and the Wanganui Crown Solicitor Lance Rowe, who was attempting to force Mr Comeskey to give evidence against the men who stole the war medals.

Those charges were withdrawn after he pleaded guilty to the other three offences.

COMESKEY ON:

The judiciary: "Judges have become bureaucrats ... they have parked their common sense out on the window ledge."

The Court of Appeal: "Quite clearly we don't have the intellectual horsepower that they do in England ... Because we are mediocre, we will get mediocre judgments."

Wanganui Crown Solicitor Lance Rowe: "That George Bush Jnr lookalike prosecutor from that little town."