Gregory M.D. Lopez

Findings — machine-extracted (anthropic-batch:claude-opus-4-8); verify against the decision

The appellant attorney received the net proceeds ($1,504,000.00) from the sale of his client's property but failed to account for and pay over the balance owed, having misappropriated the funds for other purposes. The Disciplinary Committee of the GLC found him guilty of professional misconduct in breach of Canons I(b) and VII(b) and expressly found he had acted dishonestly. He was struck off the roll and ordered to pay costs. On appeal, the Court of Appeal of Jamaica found no breach of natural justice (he had notice of and failed to attend the sanction hearing without excuse) and held the strike-off was not harsh or manifestly excessive given the dishonesty finding. Appeal dismissed; orders affirmed.

Duties found breached:

• No improper use of client money
• Uphold public trust in the profession

Aggravating factors:

• Misappropriation of client's money, used for purposes other than the client's
• Repeated broken promises to repay
• Closed office and left no forwarding address
• Repayment only made after disciplinary hearing commenced
• Misconduct put a stain on the reputation of attorneys in general

Mitigating factors:

• Made reparation (eventually repaid the outstanding sum), though the Committee held this had no mitigating effect