DAMIEN GERARD BRENNAN

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

Damien Gerard Brennan, a legal practitioner, was convicted in April 2009 on his guilty plea of 70 counts of stealing a total of $896,787 from a client and the client's estate, and one count of attempting to gain a benefit by fraudulent means ($73,790.02), and was sentenced to seven and a half years imprisonment. The Legal Profession Complaints Committee sought a finding of professional misconduct and a recommendation for removal from the roll. The Tribunal found him guilty of professional misconduct by illegal conduct, agreeing his conduct demonstrated unfitness to remain on the roll, and transmitted a report to the Supreme Court (full bench) under s 438(2)(a) recommending removal of his name. Brennan made no appearance or submissions.

Duties found breached:

• Continuity and handover of representation
• No conflict between current clients
• No improper use of client money

Aggravating factors:

• Offences were purposeful, not impulsive
• Betrayal of client trust for personal greed and gain
• Serial offending over an extended period (2001-2007)
• Described by sentencing judge as 'the worst possible offences for a solicitor'
• Large sum stolen ($896,787)

Mitigating factors:

• Pleaded guilty to the criminal charges