C. Judith Pantry
Allegation / charges
Reprimanded, Fined | Disciplinary Committee decision delivered February 25, 2022. || Guilty of Professional Misconduct | Disciplinary Committee decision delivered November 11, 2021. View PDF DECISION OF THE DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE OF THE GENERAL LEGAL COUNCIL COMPLAINT NO: 56/2020 BETWEEN …
Findings — machine-extracted (anthropic-batch:claude-opus-4-8); verify against the decision
In Complaint No. 56/2020, the Disciplinary Committee of the General Legal Council of Jamaica found retired attorney Judith Pantry guilty of professional misconduct under Canon VII(b)(ii) for failing to account to the complainant, Dawn Matthews (acting as agent for her elderly parents), for the proceeds of sale of property held in trust. The Attorney never provided proof of exchange rates or bank charges used in converting funds to US dollars, failed to account for interest on monies held, improperly reversed an agreed fee discount, and inconsistently charged GCT. The Committee found she still owed monies to the clients but made no express finding of dishonesty. On sanction, she was reprimanded, fined J$250,000, ordered to pay restitution of J$1,755,250.29 (including compound interest calculated using Bank of Jamaica weighted average rates), J$100,000 in the Complainant's legal costs, and J$30,000 in costs of the proceedings. (The text also includes related Michael Lorne/Olive Blake decisions cited as authority for compound interest.)
Duties found breached:
Aggravating factors:
- Attorney showed no remorse and maintained that the friendship excused compliance with her professional duties
- Evasive, cavalier and not forthright/candid demeanour during proceedings
- Failed to account for interest, exchange rates and bank charges and failed to provide supporting documentation
- Improperly reversed an agreed 50% discount on fees and inconsistently charged GCT without a Tax Registration Number
Mitigating factors:
- Longstanding friendship of over 35 years between Attorney and Complainant
- Informal nature of the arrangement and dealings, which was the basis for the discounted fees
- Attorney facilitated the Complainant by making disbursements in tranches at her request
⚠ figures not found verbatim in the source were dropped: ["unverified_costs_amount=130000", "review_dishonesty_finding_cue_present"]