RONALD WILLIAM BOWER

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

The WA State Administrative Tribunal found legal practitioner Ronald William Bower, sole principal of Corser & Corser, guilty of professional misconduct over his handling of two District Court files (Pal and Settlers House). It expressly found dishonesty: he knowingly swore/caused to be filed false and misleading affidavits intending to mislead the District Court, and sent/permitted false and misleading emails intending to mislead his client, to conceal delays caused by his firm. He also failed to progress matters, failed to keep the client informed, and improperly charged for reactivation work necessitated by his own default. In the penalty decision (5 May 2017), the Tribunal held he was permanently unfit to practise, made and transmitted a report to the Supreme Court (Full Bench) recommending removal of his name from the roll, suspended his practising certificate pending that determination, and ordered him to pay the Committee's costs of $46,325.10.

Duties found breached:

• Not mislead the court
• Avoid wasting the court's time
• Keep client informed and respond promptly
• Prompt accounting and return of money
• No baseless or threatened misconduct report

Aggravating factors:

• Deliberate and calculated dishonesty in misleading both the Court (on oath) and the client
• Conduct not isolated - sustained course of conduct over more than a year
• Motivated by self-interest to conceal his and his firm's defaults and avoid liability
• Caused an employed solicitor (Mr Savas), whom he knew was suffering bi-polar symptoms, to swear three misleading affidavits partly drafted to his instructions
• Continued deception in dealings with the Committee and in evidence before the Tribunal; found an unsatisfactory, evasive and non-credible witness

Mitigating factors:

• No relevant prior disciplinary history (given limited weight)
• Character references from some 30 people and pro bono/community work
• Diagnosis of major depressive disorder (given little weight as no link to dishonesty established)
• Expressions of remorse (treated as 11th hour and given only limited weight)