EVIDENCE FOR THE RESPONDENT
12The Respondent was a school captain of the primary school he attended. He attended Newington College and was dux of the school and captain of the debating team. He attended the University of Technology at Sydney from 2000 to 2004 and graduated in Journalism and Law in early 2005. He was awarded first class honours in Law. He worked as a lawyer for almost 6 years from May 2005 to April 2011 and in respect of that period there has been no evidence of any transgression or inadequacy in his conduct as a lawyer.
13His evidence is that when he worked for Armstrong Legal he worked:
"primarily autonomously. I estimated costs, issued bills, appeared for clients and managed my own time exclusively. There was some oversight from the partners of the firm but it primarily related to attaining financial targets."
14In the 2011 financial year he earned over $360,000 in billings.
15But the Respondent also said:
"21.I found the work that I was doing to be very stressful. I found it difficult to distance myself from clients, as a result I would often take on their issues personally and that would upset me.
22.I worked on most nights and weekends and would answer client's telephone calls on my mobile telephone 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
23.I estimate I was working 70-80 hours per week between the beginning of 2010 and April 2012.
24.I now realise that my work/life balance was completely unsustainable and that the way I worked was exacerbating my personal problems."
16His personal problems included that he began to use cocaine and that he also was gambling. These two problems resulted in a serious deterioration in his financial situation. He accumulated substantial debt with credit cards and by August 2010 he was forced to sell his home unit, which was purchased partly with an inheritance of $50,000 from his grandmother. On the sale of the unit he received only $100,000 after payment of his debts. He then increased his gambling. The whole of those funds was exhausted within 7 months by drugs and gambling. He continued to incur debts by personal loans and credit cards to fund his gambling and drug habits. From April 2011 to May 2012 he also used funds that he had misappropriated.
17Throughout the period from 2008 onwards, his lifestyle and habits also contributed to a decline in his physical health. He had difficulties sleeping and was often physically exhausted at work. His weight increased from 83kgs in 2010 to 104kgs in April 2012.
18The Respondent's parents are retired. However, when the Respondent informed them of what he had been doing with client's moneys, at about the time he made disclosure to his employers, they arranged for payment of a total of $70,000.00 to the law practice towards covering the losses of the law practice and the clients. He himself arranged payment of $10,000 to the law practice by foregoing termination entitlements and using other money in his possession. He handed in his Practising Certificate to the Law Society on 23 April 2012 and indicated that he would consent to being struck from the Roll. Also in April and early May he attended interviews with the Law Society's Chief Trust Account Inspector and made voluntary disclosure of the information required of him. He also made disclosure to his employers and voluntarily provided his bank records.
19Since June 2012 the Respondent has attempted to set up a business running web sites and selling advertising. This was unsuccessful. He worked for a while doing industrial cleaning and on some occasions as a labourer. He worked as a casual waiter in a restaurant for a few months in 2012. In late 2012 he also worked for a woman who worked for an on-line health supply business doing packing and mailing. From May 2013 to October 2013 he obtained work as a social media producer for a television show. When the season finished his employment ended. He then had no employment until May 2014.
20He applied for hundreds of jobs between October 2013 and May 2014 without success. In November 2013 he started work with a publisher, but found his skills were not required. In May 2014 he obtained employment as a receptionist for a small consulting firm and he remained in that employment at the time of the hearing. His salary is $45,000 per annum. He is fearful he will lose his job because of the pending decision by this Tribunal. He has enrolled in a course at the University of Sydney for the degree of Master of Business Administration and has completed his first subject.
21The parents of the Respondent expect him to repay the funds that they have paid to his former employers. He says he intends to do that but that he still owes a substantial debt to the former employers. He says his inconsistent work history has not enabled him to make significant repayments since May 2012. At the time of his dismissal he paid a total of $9,361.71, including statutory entitlements for long service leave and other termination entitlements. He has since paid a total of $4,400 when he was employed as a social media producer for the television show.
22His evidence is: "I have not declared bankruptcy and do not intend to voluntarily. I am willing to repay everything that I owe, including interest, no matter how long it takes."
23It is clear from the evidence that the Respondent is seriously remorseful and guilt stricken over what he has done. He has experienced considerable shame and the loss of the opportunity to participate in his chosen vocation. He had thought that he might be able to study medicine but has decided not to do that because he fears that he would be refused admission to the profession because of the subject conduct.
24In his Affidavit he expressed sincere regret for his conduct and the "incredible upheaval caused to the clients and the employer", "the broader financial and reputational damage that I caused to the firm", and, "bringing my profession into disrepute".
25He regrets that having worked so hard to become a lawyer and "helped many people until my misconduct". That misconduct "has over-shadowed and to some extent diminished the good work I did prior to that." He is conscious he has caused his friends and family and his partner, who is a legal professional, "pain and suffering". He believes her association with him has damaged her own reputation. He said that his shame has included that his misconduct "has destroyed my reputation and brought my family name into disrepute. I am in financial ruin."
26He said that because of the shame he feels for what he has done he had to withdraw from all the connections he had in his life as a lawyer, including many colleagues and friends. He said he is very anxious about answering unknown phone calls, checking e-mails, and checking physical mail, and "knowing that disciplinary and criminal proceedings were inevitable and that on any given day, I may be contacted by the Law Society, Armstrong Legal or the Police."
27He says that he now avoids all areas in the city where he is likely to see his former colleagues and associates in the legal profession "because of the shame I feel for what I have done."