A Christchurch solicitor has been censured after she cut corners to complete a matter faster.
Solicitor Julica Louie Carmichael was censured by the New Zealand Lawyers and Conveyancers Disciplinary Tribunal.
Carmichael admitted to a charge of misconduct after she faked an Authority and Instruction (A&I) form, which she later certified to be genuine.
In order to transfer a property from a company that has been removed from the Companies Register, the lawyer backdated the A&I form to when the company was still registered. She had glued the signature of her client to the A&I form.
Carmichael’s certifications to Land Information New Zealand, since her client was also applying for a finance facility from a bank, were also false, the Law Society said.
The young lawyer made no personal gain from her actions, other than achieving an outcome for her clients.
She was ordered to pay $4,275 for costs, and a further $2,820 for hearing costs, to the
New Zealand Law Society.
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