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.