Lloyd O. Sheckleford

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

Jamaican attorney Lloyd Sheckleford was found guilty of professional misconduct for practising for 22 years (1984-2006) without paying practising certificate fees, in breach of section 5(2) of the Legal Profession Act and Canons II(j), III(f), V(s) and I(b). The complaint was brought by a member of the General Legal Council. Proven beyond reasonable doubt largely through the evidence of the Council secretary Althea Richards, who confirmed non-payment and later partial payments made after the complaint was filed. No express finding of dishonesty was made. The panel imposed a fine of J$350,000 and costs of J$100,000, taking into account that the attorney had been allowed to practise for years and had made payments after the complaint was filed.

Duties found breached:

• Uphold public trust in the profession
• No conflict between current clients
• Hold a current practising certificate

Aggravating factors:

• Failure to pay practising fees for 22 years (1984 to 2006)
• Continued to practise throughout the period without a practising certificate
• Repeatedly failed to appear at hearings

Mitigating factors:

• Attorney was permitted to practise for many years without his certificate before proceedings commenced
• Made payments totalling J$135,000 towards outstanding practice fees after the complaint was laid