Tongan prominent lawyer, Siosifa Tu’utafaiva has had his license suspended for three years over an alleged misconduct, which includes not performing his lawyer duties after payment from his clients.
Mr. Tu’utafaiva, who has served as an advocate lawyer in a number of high-profile cases, was also ordered to pay back TOP$10,000 to four of his clients, who have filed complaints against him.
The gist of the complaints has been that Mr. Tu’utafaiva has failed to perform the services expected of him, and has failed to refund his clients’ fees.
In 2013, a Supreme Court order suspended him from practice for a period of 12 months.
The Tonga Law Society’s Disciplinary Committee found him guilty of two counts of professional misconduct. A court document at the time said Tu’utafaiva did not dispute that he had received substantial sums through legal fees, that he had not performed the services for which he had been paid and that he had not repaid the money received, despite repeated requests.
But the latest disciplinary order finding him guilty of professional misconduct, has suspended his lawyer’s license for three years.
“After taking into account all facts and matters placed before it both by the complainants and the Law Practitioner the Committee found that the “Law Practitioner’s conduct amounted to an abuse of the relationship of confidence and trust between practitioner and client stated in Rule 1.01 of the Rules of Professional Conduct for Law Practitioners 2002″.
The Committee also endorsed the view that “the misconduct of the [Law Practitioner] is serious and harmful to the clients and does not reflect the image and standing of the lawyers in Tonga, or elsewhere, too well. It does not promote the integrity and good name of the profession in the Kingdom”.
“The Committee feels that the penalty must be such that not only the Respondent but other lawyers are reminded that they must always act in the best interests of their clients, which is their primary concern”.
