Matthew Kenneth Manz

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

The respondent solicitor acted for clients whose letting agent licences had been revoked following dishonesty convictions. To secure the body corporate's consent to an assignment of management rights, he fabricated a false 'accounting/tax' reason for the assignment, communicated it to the body corporate's solicitor, and caused an employed solicitor at his firm to confirm it, concealing the true reason. The Tribunal amended the application to allege dishonesty and expressly found the respondent's conduct was dishonest, characterising it as professional misconduct. He was publicly reprimanded, fined $30,000, and ordered to pay costs on the standard basis. In a subsequent decision, the Tribunal refused the body corporate's application for a compensation order, finding the claimed loss was not suffered because of the misconduct found.

Duties found breached:

• Honesty
• Not mislead third parties or opponents
• No baseless or threatened misconduct report

Aggravating factors:

• Conduct was deliberate and persisted over a period of time
• Respondent initiated/orchestrated the false reason
• Involved another solicitor (employee) in the deception
• No attempt to correct the misrepresentation
• Significant likelihood the body corporate lost the opportunity to terminate the agreements

Mitigating factors:

• Full cooperation with the investigation and the Tribunal
• No personal benefit beyond professional fees
• No prior disciplinary findings or similar conduct
• Expression of remorse and steps taken to improve ethical awareness
• Motivated by desire to protect clients' interests rather than personal gain
• Passage of time since the conduct
• Good character references