Auckland lawyer Yoon Boo Lee has been censured and fined by the New Zealand Lawyers and Conveyancers Disciplinary Tribunal, after the tribunal found him guilty of unsatisfactory conduct.
The Tribunal found his breach of an order by a District Court Judge to be an “overly literal and self-serving interpretation” and “a misguided attempt to skirt around the terms of that order”.
According to a report by the NZ Law Society, while he was acting on behalf of a client during lengthy litigation proceedings, a costs order was made against him and his client. A further order by the District Court Judge prevented him and his client from taking any action in the proceedings until the costs were paid.
Lee then went against the orders by contacting a lawyer representing another party in the proceedings.
Desipte the costs later set aside on appeal, the Tribunal said that as a member of the legal profession, Lee should not have second-guessed an order of the court, stating the proper process would have been to appeal the order or seek judicial review, the Law Society reported.
Lee was ordered to by the
New Zealand Law Society costs of $5535 and to reimburse hearing costs of $3914, in addition to receiving a $2000 fine.
