Decision record
SALLY ANNE GAUNT
JurisdictionAustralia — Western Australia
BodyLegal Practice Board of Western Australia (LPBWA)
Professionlawyer — 285 Hancock Street DOUBLEVIEW WA 6019
Case numberLegal Practitioners Complaints Committee v Gaunt [2005] WASAT 152
Date2 June 2005
HearingState Administrative Tribunal
OutcomeUnprofessional Conduct
Allegation / charges
Unprofessional Conduct
Findings — machine-extracted (anthropic-batch:claude-opus-4-8); verify against the decision
SanctionReprimand
FineAUD 1,000
CostsAUD 750
Dishonesty foundNo
The practitioner, acting for the executrix of an estate, wrote a letter to opposing solicitor Mr G containing improper threats, including that she possessed photographs of his client's 'frolics' and suggesting the client drop the claim in exchange for return of the photos. The Tribunal found this constituted unprofessional conduct. The parties proposed consent orders of a $1000 fine and $750 costs, but the Tribunal considered this inadequate and added a reprimand to convey the seriousness of the conduct. Final orders: reprimand, $1000 fine and $750 costs (each within 42 days), plus publication.
Duties found breached:
Aggravating factors:
- Threats appeared in the context of a three-page letter containing emotive and inappropriate allegations of sexual misconduct, abuse, and infidelity
- Conduct demonstrated a lack of understanding of the proper role of a lawyer
Mitigating factors:
- Practitioner admitted writing the letter and accepted it was inappropriate
- Letter written at a time when she was under stress and unwell
- Acknowledged being overborne by the executor and adopting that person's language
- Cooperated and consented to the outcome; poor financial position