A former Auckland lawyer has been struck off after being convicted of theft, the Law Society says.
Minkai Huang earlier admitted a charge that he had been convicted of an offence punishable by imprisonment which reflected on his fitness to practise and tended to bring the legal profession into disrepute, Law Society president Chris Moore said.
Huang who was not entitled to practise on his own account had been convicted of theft and sentenced to community work for taking $9500 of fees from a client and failing to account for them to the barristers' chambers he was contracted to.
The honesty and integrity of all lawyers was of paramount importance to the legal profession and it was essential that clients could trust their lawyers, Mr Moore said.
"It is absolutely unacceptable for lawyers not approved to practise on their own account to take fees from clients without accounting for them in the proper way to their principal."
