Hope Marcia Ramsay-Stewart

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

The Disciplinary Committee found Respondent Hope M. Ramsay-Stewart guilty of professional misconduct for breaching Canons VII(b)(ii) and I(b) after client funds (US$26,760) were stolen by cyber criminals in 2017. The Committee expressly noted the loss was not through any dishonesty by the Respondent, but she failed in her duty to ensure client money was returned and blamed the clients rather than negotiating. As sanction, the Committee ordered restitution of US$26,760 plus 1% interest, costs of J$150,000 to the Complainants and J$80,000 to the General Legal Council, all payable within 45 days. No striking off, suspension or fine was imposed.

Duties found breached:

• No improper use of client money
• Good faith and courtesy to colleagues

Aggravating factors:

• Complainants kept out of their money for over three years, which could have been avoided
• Respondent sought to blame the clients rather than negotiate a compromise
• Clients forced to file and discontinue suit, incurring expense

Mitigating factors:

• Money was lost to cyber criminals, not through any dishonesty by the Respondent
• Respondent did not retain any funds improperly
• Respondent reported the matter to her insurance company
• Issue of contributory negligence could have affected quantum in a civil suit

⚠ figures not found verbatim in the source were dropped: ["unverified_costs_amount=230000"]