THE HIGH Court yesterday ordered that a Co Tipperary solicitor's practising certificate be suspended after a Law Society investigation found more than €262,000 in his client account was missing.
The court further ordered the freezing of the accounts of sole practitioner, Joseph Devine, also known as Seosamh Ó Daimhin, whose practice is at O'Rahilly Street, Nenagh.
The orders will be in force until Monday next when the case will come before the president of the High Court and a further application will be made by the Law Society.
The orders came on foot of an application by the society which carried out an investigation of Mr Devine's practice last May. Paul Anthony McDermott BL, for the society, told Mr Justice Peter Kelly that an investigation of Mr Devine's books was carried out by Niall O'Connell of the society's regulatory department.
On May 27th last, Mr O'Connell reported that about €260,000 had been taken from various accounts in the practice.
It was not clear where the money went or what purposes it was diverted to, Mr McDermott said. In an addendum to Mr O'Connell's report, the sum that was missing had risen to €262,864, Mr McDermott said.
The Law Society held an emergency meeting of its Regulation and Practice Committee last Friday and this was attended by solicitor Seán Sexton, representing Mr Devine, who did not take issue with Mr O'Connell's report but said he had been advised the deficit was €228,000.
While this was an ex-parte (from one side only) application, there was a representative from Mr Sexton's office in court and there was consent to the orders being in place until Monday.
Mr Justice Kelly noted Mr Devine had been referred to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal last December because of a failure to file accounts and was told no accounts had been filed to date.
Granting the orders, the judge said a "serious state of affairs" had been identified in the investigation. He ordered that no bank shall make any payments out of any accounts in Mr Devine's name, that his practising certificate be suspended, that he not discharge any account in his control and that any subsequent monies he receives be lodged to an appropriate client account.
A separate application seeking the freezing of another solicitor's account was heard in private by Mr Justice Kelly following an application on his behalf. The judge agreed the matter should remain in camera because of the medical condition of the solicitor and because publicity might affect proposals he (the solicitor) has to dispose of property in order to meet requirements of the Law Society.