Barton was on the board of PSO and acting in a governance role at the time.
The commission’s report said the documents were destroyed when staff at PSO were aware of reports of abuse and neglect in its care, and that there were plans for a Royal Commission to be established.
As a result of the complaints, an independent standards committee started investigating, and Barton subsequently stepped aside as president.
In a decision released on Tuesday, the committee said no further action would be taken.
Such decisions are normally kept confidential, but given high public interest in the case, the committee published the reasons for its conclusion.
It said there was an email exchange between Barton and Bremner on February 3, 2016, where Barton was asked for advice regarding the destruction of records.
The committee decided the advice given by Barton that records could be destroyed was given in his capacity as a lawyer as opposed to his position on the PSO board.
It said there are circumstances when something beyond stating the bare or technical legal position is required by a lawyer in order to properly discharge their professional obligations. However, it decided Barton would not have known the advice he gave would have resulted in the wholesale destruction of records without further discussions.
“The committee’s view was that it could not be reasonably foreseen or expected that Mr Barton would have known that his response would be relied on in relation to an instruction by the CEO in early 2016 to destroy records without further follow-up discussion or advice or consideration of what an appropriate milestone or anniversary might be,” the decision said.
The committee argued the way the email was worded “implicitly invited follow-up” about when any destruction might occur.
The committee also didn’t identify any evidence that the advice was sought or given in contemplation of, or with reasonable belief that, a Royal Commission of Inquiry was to commence.
However, it noted that all lawyers should be mindful of any advice or guidance they give that could constitute legal advice.
Barton will return to duties as president on Wednesday.
“I look forward to continuing the Law Society’s valuable work,” he said in a statement.
“I acknowledge the importance of the Royal Commission of Inquiry and the significance of its findings relating to the appalling abuse and neglect suffered by children in care,” Barton said.
Vice-President David Campbell said Barton has the full support of the Law Society Board.
“Frazer Barton brings a wealth of experience, knowledge, integrity and community service to his position. We back him to bring that valuable expertise to the role of Law Society president.”
Lawyer Sam Benton, from Cooper Legal, was one of the lawyers who laid a complaint against Barton, but did not wish to comment on the standards committee decision when approached by the Herald.
Following the revelations of PSO staff destroying children’s records, Attorney-General Judith Collins reminded state and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records.
In a statement, she said destroying records could have serious implications.
“Anyone destroying documents because they believe they could be used as evidence of a crime may be committing an offence and could be prosecuted,” she said.
Michael Morrah is a senior investigative reporter/team leader at the Herald. He won the best coverage of a major news event at the 2024 Voyager NZ Media Awards and has twice been named reporter of the year. He has been a broadcast journalist for 20 years and joined the Herald in July 2024.
