The Supreme Court has upheld a decision refusing to restore Galway solicitor Frank Burke to the roll after he was struck off for misconduct involving dishonesty and client funds.
Burke was admitted as a solicitor in 1973 and practised as Frank Burke and Company. In 1991, the High Court struck him off following findings by the Law Society's Disciplinary Committee. He had admitted a client-account deficit of £120,429.70, misappropriation of clients' money and other breaches of the solicitors' accounts rules. Thirty allegations of misconduct were proved or admitted.
It was not his first disciplinary case. In 1985, a committee had recommended that he be struck off following four misconduct allegations. Instead, the High Court censured him and imposed what was then a record £20,000 fine.
Burke later acknowledged that he had deliberately concealed the true state of his practice during the subsequent investigation and described his taking of money as grossly dishonest. He also paid substantial sums arising from the investigations.
When he applied to return to practice, 29 Galway-area solicitors provided affidavits supporting him and four gave oral evidence. Burke proposed practising subject to a restriction preventing him from controlling client money.
The President of the High Court nevertheless refused restoration, finding Burke had not shown he was a fit and proper person to practise. The Supreme Court agreed.
Chief Justice Ronan Keane said restoration after dishonesty is legally possible but necessarily confined to a limited category of cases. Burke's misconduct was not an isolated lapse: he had previously come close to being struck off and, after removal from the roll, was involved in an incident which led to an undertaking that he would not attend premises where his wife practised as a solicitor.
The court held that his willingness to accept restrictions on handling money did not automatically disqualify him, but in this case reinforced the seriousness of the earlier misconduct. His appeal was dismissed.