Cavan solicitor struck off by High Court after misappropriating client funds

High Court Reporter

A Co Cavan lawyer who misappropriated client funds has been struck off the roll of solicitors by the High Court.

In a judgment published this week, High Court president Judge David Barniville made orders against Ronan O’Brien, after a disciplinary tribunal made findings of misconduct against the solicitor.

O’Brien, who previously practised at Ronan O’Brien & Co Solicitors, Church Street, Cavan, was previously suspended from practice by the court in 2024.

As well as being struck off the roll of solicitors, O’Brien was ordered to pay the costs of the disciplinary tribunal, and the costs of the Law Society in bringing the strike off application to the High Court, amounting to about €14,000.

The Law Society’s application to strike off O’Brien arose from a complaint by two of his clients.

On various dates last year, allegations against O’Brien were considered at hearings of the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal.

The Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal is an independent body that considers complaints of misconduct against solicitors and barristers.

O’Brien attended the first tribunal hearing and made several admissions.

The tribunal ultimately upheld various allegations of misconduct against O’Brien.

The tribunal found that O’Brien had misappropriated €239,500 held on behalf of two clients to partly fund his acquisition of a property in Cavan town, and the acquisition, on behalf of a separate client, of another premises in the town.

This misconduct involved fraud and dishonesty, the tribunal found, and brought the solicitor’s profession into disrepute.

Other instances of misconduct included the making of unauthorised payments, deficits in client ledgers, and the failure to maintain proper books of account.

In his judgment, Judge Barniville noted that the tribunal “pointed out that the findings were not only serious, but that they were at the ‘very upper end of seriousness’”.

O’Brien’s misconduct was “dishonest, calculated, repeated”, the tribunal found, and he benefited financially from his actions at the expense of his clients.

The tribunal considered mitigating factors, including O’Brien’s admissions, his co-operation with the tribunal, and difficult personal circumstances.

The tribunal recommended that O’Brien be struck off the register of solicitors.

The judge said he was satisfied to adopt the sanctions recommended by the tribunal and sought by the Law Society.