A lawyer who sold cannabis to an undercover police officer has been suspended for three years.
The New Zealand Lawyers and Conveyancers Disciplinary Tribunal has suspended Anthony Paul Blair (also known as Paul Anthony Blair) from legal practice for three years from 12 March 2015.
Blair, who is not currently practising law, admitted a disciplinary charge of having been convicted of offences punishable by imprisonment which reflected on his fitness to practise or tended to bring the profession into disrepute.
Blair was found guilty of two charges in the Hamilton District Court of selling cannabis and possessing cannabis for the purpose of sale contrary to the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975.
He sold one cannabis tinnie for $20 to an undercover police officer and at the time of sale was also holding three other tinnies in his hand.
New Zealand Law Society Prosecutions Manager Mark Treleaven says the Tribunal’s decision was entirely justified.
“This is a serious matter which has marred the high standard of conduct that is expected of every lawyer in New Zealand,” he says.
