TWO SOLICITORS facing striking-off applications over alleged professional misconduct have claimed their lives have been threatened, the High Court has heard.
Declan McCourt, McCourt and Co Solicitors, Apollo’s Court, Defender’s Row, Dundalk, claims there was an arson attack on his office in 2005 along with a threat to his life which he has reported to the gardaí.
William Davis, principal of William J Davis and Co Solicitors, Herbert Street, Dublin, claims he is in fear for his life from two people who, the court was told, have links to other “notorious” individuals.
Mr McCourt is facing a strike off application by the Law Society after a solicitors disciplinary tribunal found him guilty of failures in relation to an undertaking for a loan on a property in Dundalk and in relation to completion of work on another property matter in Carrick-on-Shannon.
He was also found guilty of failing to furnish an accountant’s report on time in 2005.
Mr McCourt’s solicitor, Seán Sexton, asked the court yesterday not to strike Mr McCourt off but to allow him more time to deal with the matter. Mr Sexton said he had only recently come into the case and wanted time to put in a replying affidavit which would deal with medical evidence and a Garda report concerning a threat to his client’s life.
Mr McCourt’s offices were previously subject of an arson attack in 2005 as a result of which his account records were destroyed and he was unable to file his accounts with the Law Society, Mr Sexton said. There was no loss of client monies in this case and Mr McCourt had not practised as a solicitor since 2006, he added.
In the case of Mr Davis, his accounts were frozen last June over an alleged deficit of €250,000 in his client account, mostly arising from paying out house sale monies which were taken in for one client but paid out to another.
Paul Anthony McDermott, for the Law Society, said an affidavit supplied by Mr Davis following last month’s initial hearing was very unsatisfactory because it stated Mr Davis was in fear for his life and his family’s life from two individuals who may have “a pernicious influence” over him.
The affidavit did not provide any details as to the nature of the threats and did not explain if or why he had not gone to the gardaí about them, Mr McDermott said. These threats were also never mentioned when the problems over Mr Davis’s accounts “first blew up,” he added.
Alan Toal, for Mr Davis, said it was a serious matter and he would be seeking to have a long affidavit dealt with in private by the court as there were “a lot of names which, cross-referenced with the two individuals, are notorious”.
Mr Justice Richard Johnson adjourned both cases for a week to allow for the filing of full affidavits and added that the affidavit already sworn by Mr Davis should be referred to the gardaí.
A third solicitor before the court yesterday in relation to professional misconduct was struck off by the judge. Ciarán Callan, of Callan Co Solicitors, Riverbank House, Dodder Park Drive, Dublin, admitted several breaches of solicitors’ regulations including failing to keep proper books and records, failing to register deeds and transferring money between accounts to conceal an underlying deficit.
The court heard the most serious of these was a client account deficit, initially thought to be €900,000 but which turned out to be €1.9 million in November 2007 when his accounts were frozen and he undertook to stop practising. The court was told Mr Callan took full responsibility for the matters and no client had been at a loss.
Mr Justice Johnson ordered Mr Callan to be struck off but added he could reapply in the future to be restored to the roll of solicitors.