Prime Minister Christopher Luxon's name was used by James McConnor in support of his application to be granted a lawyer's practising certificate. Photo / Marty Melville
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon's name was used by James McConnor in support of his application to be granted a lawyer's practising certificate. Photo / Marty Melville
A lawyer who spun a “spider’s web” of a property deal has tried to win his way back into the legal fraternity by implying that Prime Minister Christopher Luxon supported his comeback.
Former lawyer John Dorbu was struck off in 2011 after he called a High Court judge a racist, attacked the credibility of a former member of the Law Society and misled an Australian court about the trouble he was facing in New Zealand.
However, it was the orchestration of a complex property conspiracy involving a $1 million building in Auckland’s CBD that made up the bulk of the charges against him.
After his client signed a deal to sell the building on Anzac Ave, an offer was received from an overseas buyer that was $122,000 higher.
The seller tried to cancel the contract and offered the first buyer $30,000 to walk away, but the first buyer refused and placed a caveat on the property to protect their interest.
Dorbu then tried to void the sale by transferring the seller’s shares and their mortgage in an attempt to undermine the caveat so his client could accept the higher offer.
A court would later label Dorbu’s scheme a “spider’s web”. The original buyer spent nearly $300,000 on legal bills to try to keep the building he thought he had bought.
The property conspiracy concerned a $1 million building on Anzac Ave in Auckland's CBD. Image / Google
Earlier in May, Dorbu decided his nearly 15-year exile should end and applied to the Law Society for the return of his practising certificate.
Dorbu now calls himself James McConnor after legally changing his name in 2018.
As part of his application for a practising certificate, he referred to an alleged conversation with Luxon and submitted an affidavit saying that “our discussions on faith and aspirations were profoundly inspiring”.
However, in its ruling released last week, the tribunal said: “There is no indication that the Prime Minister knows of, or supports, his application. We are unimpressed by a suggestion of support when there is none”.
The Prime Minister’s Office confirmed to NZME that Luxon had no knowledge of McConnor’s application.
McConnor conceded during his hearing that various other lawyers he name-dropped as potential mentors would probably have been surprised to hear he’d used their names in his support. His application was not supported formally by any other lawyer.
“Mr McConnor asks us to give him the chance to prove himself. But we cannot experiment,” the tribunal said.
“Instead of fronting up to those things where he had been criticised in the past, Mr McConnor avoided and obfuscated them.
“We formed the view that he would prefer to close his mind to this uncomfortable material, and for the rest of the world to do likewise.”
The tribunal said McConnor failed to face up to his past wrongdoings and “fudged” his answers to them by saying “the past wasn’t me”.
In particular, they were concerned he was currently attempting to sue Auckland Transport and Baycorp for defamation after he was fined $150 for driving in a bus lane.
“Whatever the rights and wrongs of the litigation, it has the appearance of hubris and disproportionality about it, both traits that concern us.”
Ultimately, the tribunal found this was “not a borderline case” and said it would be unsafe for the public and the reputation of the profession for McConnor to be re-enrolled.
Jeremy Wilkinson is an Open Justice reporter based in Manawatū covering courts and justice issues with an interest in tribunals. He has been a journalist for nearly a decade and has worked for NZME since 2022.
