A female lawyer has been struck off the roll by the Cyprus Bar Association’s Disciplinary Board following a hearing that found her guilty of professional misconduct.
The Disciplinary Board found the lawyer (who has not been named) guilty on eight charges involving the administration of a deceased’s estate; the lawyer failed to appear the hearing.
The charges against her included:
- Failing to inform the heirs of the deceased’s estate of the actions, handling and progress of their case.
- Failing to exercise the due diligence reasonably expected by the heirs to carry out the inventory of the property, its management and distribution as well as the registration of final accounts as required by law.
- Failing to pass the proceeds resulting from the sale of two apartments amounting to €50,000 and €75,000 to the heirs.
- Failing to pass the rents received from the two apartments of €1,922.78 and €1,432.88 to the heirs.
- Failing to attribute a further amount of €20,000 to the heirs.
- Failing to express her views on the charges against her to the Attorney General.
This was not the first time that this lawyer had been brought before the Disciplinary Board. In earlier appearances she was fined on a number of occasions.
The lawyer is appealing the decision of the Disciplinary Board to strike her off. (The Supreme Court may review the whole case and either confirm the decision of the Disciplinary Board, or set it aside, or make such other order as it may think fit.)
A veil of secrecy protecting lawyers
The Cyprus Bar Association‘s Disciplinary Board operates behind a veil of secrecy by failing to publish details of charges brought against its members, their names and its decisions.
In this respect, the Bar Association could be accused of protecting its members rather than protecting the public from the nefarious activities of some of its advocate members.
In this particular case, by failing to publish the name of the ‘female lawyer’ the Cyprus Bar Association throws the public’s suspicion on all female lawyers in Cyprus, which could potentially damage their reputation and their business.
It’s high time the Bar Association became more transparent and helped the public to avoid the bad apples amongst its membership.
Surely this is something the EU should know about. We had very bad experience with the lawyer for our first purchase here. I believe he served some jail time but it’s impossible to verify that
Many people have had bad experiences with lawyers, but there’s nothing the EU can do about it. If yours spent time in jail it will be recorded in the cylaw.org website where all court decisions are listed.
Seventeen years ago we brought a new property, the developers lawyer acted for both the sale and purchase of most sales on the complex, we chose an independent one. The majority of resales continue to be handled by her firm for both parties. This I believe to be highly unethical. How can one lawyer act in the best interests of both parties?
Providing the lawyer advises you that their firm is also acting for the other party and you proceed with that lawyer, it’s not a problem.
But what is a problem is when a lawyer falsely claims that their independent when in fact they’re also acting for the other party.
(I had experience of this when we bought our first house in the UK. The developer suggested we used a law firm and we trotted along to the lawyer. He said immediately that he also acted for the developer as said if you want to use another law firm I quite understand. We used him anyway and had no problems.)
Presumably this is the same lawyer that failed to register our property 17 years ago .She has caused us untold problems and we are still in the process of trying to get the deeds.I complained to the bar association years ago and never even had an acknowledgment.The whole system is unfit for purpose.
If it’s upheld it’s the best news I’ve had for years, had this been in UK I would have taken legal action against her.
Waste of time trying in Cyprus.
Nigel has been a great help with advice over the years and I’d like to thank him again for his advice.
Thanks for your comments on my help & advice Paul – they are much appreciated.
As for the lawyer who failed to register your contract, I think I know who she is. I’ve checked the Cyprus Bar Association’s list of members and she’s still listed. (You could check too.)
I agree, the whole system is unfit for purpose. To me, the Bar Association operates like a trade union for lawyers as it’s managed and run by lawyers. What’s needed is an independent regulatory authority – but finding suitably qualified people to investigate complaints and pass judgements would be very difficult.
The following is to be noted:-
Firstly, why hasn’t the lawyer in question been named by the Disciplinary Board of Advocates?
Secondly, is it possible to go online and view those lawyers who HAVE been struck off or disciplined? (I rather fear not).
Thirdly, has the recalcitrant lawyer handed over the money?
Fourthly, if she hasn’t, has a charge been put on her assets so that they can be sold and the proceeds handed over? If not, why not?
Fifthly, does machinery exist whereby lawyer indemnity insurance exists to reimburse the losses of their clients in such circumstances if the assets taken by the lawyer are nowhere to be found?
Perhaps Cyprus Property News have the answers to the above.
To answer your questions Gavin:
The lawyer hasn’t been named because the Cyprus Bar Association’s Disciplinary Board operates behind a veil of secrecy.
No it isn’t possible to find the names of lawyers who have been disciplined or struck off (see previous answer.) However, if the lawyer appeals the Disciplinary Board’s decision, the appeal will be heard in the Supreme Court and the judgements of the Supreme Court can be found online at the The Cyprus Legal Information Source. But as we all know, cases can take many years to be heard in court.
I don’t know if the lawyer has handed over the money she kept. I wouldn’t be surprised if her clients had to sue her to recover their money.
All lawyers registered with the Cyprus Bar Association are required to have insurance. Details may be found at Professional Indemnity Insurance, where the minimum cover is:
(a) €170,860 for every claim
(b) €341,720 for every Insurance Period
But I doubt indemnity insurance would pay out for a claim of professional misconduct.