THE HIGH Court has confirmed an order freezing the accounts and assets of a Co Tipperary solicitor after a Law Society investigation found more than €262,000 in his client account was missing.
Joseph Devine, also known as Seosamh Ó Daimhín, whose practice is at O'Rahilly Street, Nenagh, remains suspended from the roll of solicitors after the president of the High Court, Mr Justice Richard Johnson, yesterday confirmed orders made last week.
The orders had been temporarily in place since last Wednesday, when the case first came before the court, and yesterday a solicitor for Mr Devine said his client was consenting to the orders being made.
The High Court heard last week that an investigation of Mr Devine's books was carried out by the society's regulatory department which found that €262,864 was missing from various accounts in the practice.
The Law Society Regulation in Practice Committee had recommended the solicitor's suspension because its chairman said there were no concrete proposals to deal with the matter and an application to freeze his accounts was made to the court.
Yesterday, Paul McDermott, for the society, told Mr Justice Johnson it was still not known where the money has gone or what it might have been used for.
Seán Sexton, solicitor for Mr Devine, said his side was consenting to the orders sought.