Mayo solicitors fined €50,000 by tribunal for professional misconduct

TWO Co Mayo solicitors have been fined a total of €50,000 after being found guilty of professional misconduct by the Solicitors’ Disciplinary Tribunal for accounting irregularities which were described as “systematic off-the-books trading”.

A hearing before the legal profession’s disciplinary body in Dublin yesterday heard that solicitors Michael McDarby and Seán Acton, with a practice at Glebe Street, Ballinrobe, Co Mayo, had misled the Law Society by trying to cover up “a brilliant scam” with lies.

The three-person tribunal found the two solicitors guilty of professional misconduct on nine separate charges relating to the operation of their accounts and notifying clients of professional fees. The two men had pleaded guilty to six of the charges but had contested the remainder.