KEVIN COLIN BENEDICT STAFFA

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

The State Administrative Tribunal (WA) found legal practitioner Kevin Colin Benedict Staffa guilty of professional misconduct on Grounds 1, 3 and 4 and unsatisfactory professional conduct on Ground 2. The conduct arose from acting in a conflict of interest between a company and its former managing director (W), billing the wrong party, advising W to transfer company funds to his own account without authority, and - most seriously - failing to be open and candid with the Legal Profession Complaints Committee by knowingly making a false statement intended to mislead it. The Tribunal found he knew his statement was false and intended to mislead the Committee, reflecting a lack of honesty and integrity. At the penalty stage the Tribunal held this character deficiency could not be remedied by suspension and resolved to make and transmit a report to the Supreme Court (full bench) recommending his name be removed from the roll, suspended his practising certificate pending that determination, and ordered him to pay agreed costs of $58,000 to the Legal Practice Board.

Duties found breached:

• No conflict between current clients
• No improper use of client money
• Prompt accounting and return of money
• No baseless or threatened misconduct report

Aggravating factors:

• Deliberate/intentional misleading of the regulatory body (Ground 4)
• Lack of insight and failure to appreciate the impropriety of his conduct
• Absence of remorse; disingenuous evidence given to the Tribunal to explain away the false statement
• Very experienced practitioner (admitted 1978) who should have known his obligations
• Prior disciplinary finding of unsatisfactory professional conduct in 2011
• Failure to offer to return fees wrongly paid by the Australian Company
• Conduct persisted over a period of time rather than being a one-off event

Mitigating factors:

• Long career (over 40 years) with generally satisfactory practice and only one prior disciplinary matter
• Prior good standing and favourable personal antecedents (child migrant background, army service)
• Positive references attesting to being hardworking, competent and of good repute
• History of pro bono legal work
• Stated intention to retire from practice on 30 June 2021 and not taking new instructions