Disciplinary Panel of the Law Society of Jersey - appointment of lay members

STATES OF JERSEY

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DISCIPLINARY PANEL OF THE LAW SOCIETY OF JERSEY: APPOINTMENT OF LAY MEMBERS

Lodged au Greffe on 15th May 2007 by the Chief Minister

STATES GREFFE

PROPOSITION

THE STATES are asked to decide whether they are of opinion

in p u rsuance of Article  18(2) of The Law Society of Jersey Law 2005, to approve the appointment of the

following persons as lay members of the Disciplinary Panel of the Law Society of Jersey for a period of 5  years –

• M  r . Maurice Adrian des Forges

• M  r s. Sharon Eddie

• M  r . Robin Charles Hacquoil

• M  r . Graham Edward Jennings

• C a p t ain Brian James Stuart Nibbs

• M  r s. Pamela Margaret Nisbet

• M  r . Alfred David John Rosser.

CHIEF MINISTER

REPORT

1. I n t roduction

1. In 2005 the States of Jersey approvedTheLaw Society ofJersey Law and agreed that the Law Society should beformally incorporated as a public body. Oneof the main objectives of the Society is topromote high standards ofprofessional conduct among practitioners and, to this end, the Law makes provision for the appointment of a DisciplinaryPaneltoconsiderand adjudicate uponcomplaints against membersof the legalprofession.
2. T h e DisciplinaryPanel is being established inorder to considercomplaintsofprofessionalmisconductby members of the legal profession whoare practitioners of the RoyalCourt.ThePanel'sremit, therefore, does not extend to English barristers or solicitors, nor to professional lawyers registered in other jurisdictions.
3. O n 6th December2006 the States approved TheLaw Society of Jersey Law 2005 (AppointedDay)Act 2006, the mainpurposeofwhichwastobring into forceon1st January 2007 the provisions ofThe Law Society of Jersey Law 2005. A recruitment exercise for lay membersof the Disciplinary Panel has since been conducted, and nominations for 7 laymembers are nowbeing presented to the States for their approval.

2. T h  e Disciplinary Panel

1. T h e framework for the DisciplinaryPanelwasestablishedby the States in2005 when it approved the Law Society of Jersey Law. In accordance with Article  18(1)of the Law, the Panel will consist ofup to 7 lay members,together with 4 membersof the legal profession.Complaints against legal practitioners will be submitted to the Presidentof the Law Society and, in thosecaseswhere the President is satisfied that a complaintshouldbe investigated, the matter will be referred to a disciplinary committee, which will consist of 3 membersofthe disciplinary panel.
2. T h e disciplinary committee will be made up of 2 lay membersandoneprofessionalmember, and one of the lay members will be designated to serve aschairman. The committee will then considerthecomplaint and will havethepowertodeal with the complaintin any oneof the followingways –

( a ) b y dismissing it

(b ) if i t is satisfied that the complaint is proved and that it constitutes professional misconduct by the

practitioner, but that it can properly be dealt with either by way of a public reprimand or private rebuke, by so reprimanding or rebuking the practitioner; or

(c ) b y referring the complaint to the Attorney General without making a finding.' (Article 23(1) of

The Law Society of Jersey Law 2005).

3. It is envisaged that the disciplinary committees will be able to deal with the majorityofcomplaints that are referred to them, either in the form of a private reprimand or public rebuke. The more serious complaints, however, will be referred bythecommittees to the Attorney General(asnoted in Article 23

(1)(c) above), and he will then take a decision as to whether to refer the complaint to the Royal Court. If the Royal Court is satisfied that the practitioner is guilty of professional misconduct, it may deal with the matter in one of the following ways –

( a ) b y privately rebuking the practitioner; (b ) b y reprimanding him or her publicly; (c ) b y imposing a fine on the practitioner;

( d ) b y suspending him or her from practice as an advocate or solicitor for a specified period not

exceeding 6 months; or

(e ) b y ordering that the name of the practitioner be removed from the roll of advocates or solicitors,

as the case may be'. (Article  26(8) of The Law Society of Jersey Law 2005).

4. T h e detailed provisions relating to the disciplinary panel are set outin Part  3 ofThe Law Society of Jersey Law 2005.

3. R  ec ruitmentof lay members

1. T h e Appointments Commission has been involved throughout the process of advertising for and recruiting lay members to the Disciplinary Panel. The role of the Appointments Commission, as a memberof the appointments panel, hasincluded the following –

• A  p p roving the role and person specifications, together with the advertisement, the information pack, and the media to be used;

• A  g re eing the procedures to be followed;

• C h a i ring the steering group and the shortlisting and interviewing process;

• E n s u ring that all the applicants were satisfactorily assessed against the published criteria; and

• E n s u ring that the procedures and decisions were fully documented.

2. T h e positionof lay memberwas advertised in the Jersey Gazette,and in addition a numberof interested organisations were contacted directly. Fourteen expressionsof interest were received from membersof the publicand this resulted in 8  applications. Following a shortlisting process it was decide to interview 7 of the applicants.All these applicants were satisfactorily assessed at interview againstthe agreed criteria, and the appointments panel therefore had no hesitation inmaking a unanimousrecommendationto the Chief Minister that they should be appointed aslaymembers.
3. T h e Chief Minister is pleased  to accept this recommendation, and further information about the 7 proposed appointees is given below –

• M r . Maurice Adrian des Forges

M r . M aurice des Forges retired last year from Mourants Limited where he had worked for 9 years as Head

of Compliance. Prior to this Mr. des Forges worked from 1974 to 1997 as a Director/Company Secretary for TSB Fund Managers (Channel Islands) Limited. Mr. des Forges is a founder member and pas president of the Rotary Club de la Manche.

• M r s . Sharon Eddie

M  rs . Sharon Eddie has been Headteacher at Mont à l'Abbé School since September 2001, where she is

responsible for leading a team of some 60  people. This work includes the coordination of a range of services for children aged from Nursery through to post-16, including teaching, transport, buildings and maintenance etc. Prior to her appointment in Jersey, Mrs. Eddie worked in a range of senior teaching posts in the West Midlands.

• M r . Robin Charles Hacquoil

M r . R obin Hacquoil served as a States member for 2 terms as the Deputy for St.  Peter from 1996 to 2002. During this period he was the Vice-President of 3  different committees, as well as President of the Public

Services Committee. Mr.  Hacquoil has also worked as a freelance management consultant, and from 1957 to 1987

he worked in the public sector in Canada.

• M r . Graham Edward Jennings

M r . G raham Jennings worked as Chief Executive to the Health and Social Services Committee from 1996

to 2002, having served as Deputy Chief Executive from 1989 to 1996. Mr.  Jennings was employed in a variety of U.K. health settings from 1976 to 1985, prior to returning to work in Jersey in 1985 to work as post-graduate tutor to the Island's health service. He is also a committee member of the Foundation Trust responsible for the running of the Jersey Cheshire Home.

• C a p tain Brian James Stuart Nibbs

C a p ta in Nibbs was employed as the Harbourmaster from 1997 to 2002, following which he worked as the

Chief Executive Officer of Jersey Harbours from 2002 to 2004. Captain Nibbs has worked in both the public and private sectors in a variety of marine-related positions, and he now runs a consultancy practice that carries out a wide range of marine and non-marine consultancy projects. He is also President of the Sea Cadets, TS Jersey, and the Royal Life Saving Society (Jersey Branch).

• M r s . Pamela Margaret Nisbet

M r s. Pamela Nisbet is the director of a property company, and her previous employment includes

extended periods as a company secretary and as a teacher of history and of young people with Special Educational Needs. Mrs.  Nisbet worked as a Youth Court panellist at the Magistrate's Court from 1996 to 2005, and has also been a member of the St.  Peter's honorary police.

• M r . Alfred David John Rosser

M r. D avid Rosser retired in October 2006 from his position as Director of Administration, Compliance

Officer, and Company Secretary with Guardian Trust Company Limited, having worked for over 40  years in the financial services industry. This work included positions with Fidelity International (CI) Limited, Hill Samuel Jersey Limited, and the Bank of Wales (Jersey) Limited. Mr.  Rosser continues to work on a part-time basis for a local trust company, where he provides in-house management and governance training for employees.

4. S u bject to approval by the States, the lay members will serve for a term of office of 5  years, with this term commencing from the date of appointmentby the States.
5. T h e 4 professional membersofthe Disciplinary Panel are appointedbythe Law Society, in accordance with Article 18(4)ofThe Law Society of Jersey Law 2005. Theseappointments were made by the Law Society attheirGeneralMeetingon2nd March 2007,and they areas follows –

• M  r . Anthony Paul Del Amo

• M  r s. Jacqueline Anne Richomme

• A  d v ocate Nuno Manuel Camillo Santos-Costa

• A  d v ocate Michael St. John O'Connell

6. A s with the lay members,theprofessionalmembersofthe Disciplinary Panel will hold office for a term of 5 years.

4. F i n ancialandmanpower implications

4.1 A d ministrative support to the disciplinary panel and committees will be provided by the Law Society of Jersey. The lay members will be working in an honorary capacity, and there will therefore not be any financial or manpower implications for the States of Jersey.

5. R  ec ommendation

1. T h e Chief Minister has been pleased by the calibre of the candidateswhohave been preparedtoallow their namestogo forward for consideration as lay membersof the Disciplinary Panel.Theworkof the Disciplinary Panel will be time consumingand at times difficult, and I believe that the States is fortunate in having 7  individuals with the relevant skills and experience who are preparedto carry out this workin an honorary capacity. The States isaccordinglyasked to approvetheir appointment.
2. S u bject to appointmentby the States, the Law Society DisciplinaryPanel will be fully constituted and will be able tocommence its work inaccordancewiththeLaw Society ofJerseyLaw.