Auckland solicitor Briton Salter admitted two misconduct charges before the New Zealand Lawyers and Conveyancers Disciplinary Tribunal, a release from the
New Zealand Law Society said today.
Listed on the Companies Registrar as a director of Grey Lynn firm Salta Property Law Ltd, Salter has been censured, fined $5,000 and ordered to pay the Law Society $9,853 in legal costs and to reimburse hearing costs of $3,259.
His hearing date was listed on the Lawyers and Conveyancers Disciplinary Tribunal website as 4 August.
The first charge was for using the trust account of another law practice for a large number of transactions in breach of section 110 of the Lawyers and Conveyancers Act, and in breach of a lawyers' standards committee order to cease using another firm's trust account.
The second charge was for breaching a standards committee order to take advice from a senior lawyer as to the management of Salter's practice.
"All New Zealand lawyers have a fundamental obligation to uphold the rule of law,” Law Society president Chris Moore said of the case.
“This includes obeying disciplinary orders and respecting decisions of lawyers' standards committees.”
