TOMAS MIJATOVIC

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

The Full Bench of the Supreme Court of WA struck Tomas Mijatovic off the Roll of Practitioners following the Committee's motion. The SAT had upheld three charges of unprofessional conduct: concealing a disadvantageous costs agreement and advancing his own interests over the client's; gross overcharging ($22,000 vs a reasonable $5,500) aggravated by dishonest overstatement and fabricated records; and improper ex parte communication with a Family Court registrar. The Tribunal expressly found dishonesty in concealing the costs agreement. Conduct spanned about 10 months and involved dishonesty, lack of integrity and exploitation of a vulnerable client. The practitioner consented and did not appear. Struck off and ordered to pay costs (assessment to be determined).

Duties found breached:

• No improper communication with the court
• Costs and fee transparency to client
• No conflict between current clients

Aggravating factors:

• Dishonesty in concealing costs agreement content
• Taking advantage of a vulnerable client to advance own interests
• Dishonest overstatement of work done and reliance on fabricated records before the Tribunal
• Prolonged course of misconduct over about 10 months
• Singular lack of comprehension of proper standards of professional conduct

Mitigating factors:

• Unreserved apology to the Committee, client and family, and legal profession
• Consented to the orders sought