TRICIA Y. BACHMANN

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

The Legal Practitioners Complaints Committee brought two applications against legal practitioner Tricia Y Bachmann alleging she made knowingly false representations to nine clients about work undertaken and charged for work not done, while employed by Aragon Legal. In the G matter she fabricated court-document work, invoiced approximately $23,000, lodged caveats falsely claiming Aragon was a secured creditor, and pursued recovery proceedings. In the eight-clients matter she failed to lodge five liquor licence applications while falsely telling clients they were progressing, invented instructions (FGC and H matters), billed for work not done, breached s 137 (trust money) and continued to practise while suspended (s 203, A matter). After 14 hearing days marked by the practitioner's delays, false statements and non-compliance, the Tribunal found expressly that she acted dishonestly and made fraudulent misrepresentations, and that she lied to the Tribunal. It found her not a fit and proper person to remain a practitioner. In its supplementary decision the Tribunal recommended to the Supreme Court (full bench) that she be struck off, continued her suspension pending that determination, and ordered her to pay the Committee's disbursements of $67,253.21 plus $270 filing fees.

Duties found breached:

• Proper basis for allegations
• Honesty
• No taking unfair advantage
• No improper use of client money
• Prompt accounting and return of money
• Hold a current practising certificate

Aggravating factors:

• Repeated and sustained dishonesty across nine client matters over the period August 2005 to May 2006
• Dishonest and evasive conduct before the Tribunal, including lying while giving evidence
• Fabrication of false documents and fanciful/false explanations
• Providing false addresses for herself and witnesses and making false claims that witnesses had been warned off
• Persistent non-compliance with directions, delay and avoidance tactics that prolonged and increased cost of proceedings
• No remorse or insight displayed
• Suing clients and caveating their property to secure fees not properly owed

Mitigating factors:

• Practitioner was self-represented and under stress during proceedings
• Possible mental/health condition may have affected conduct, though insufficient medical evidence to establish this

⚠ figures not found verbatim in the source were dropped: ["unverified_costs_amount=67523.21"]