Four legal professionals have hit the headlines today across the country for alleged theft and fraud.

In South Australia Minter Ellison has advised local police that the former chief financial officer of the firm appears to have stolen money from a bank account holding personal partner funds.  "It appears that the senior financial officer has abused his access and knowledge of the firm's security protocols and partners' personal information,” said Nigel McBride, managing partner of Minter Ellison SA/NT.

In light of the evidence uncovered regarding the partner fund, Minter Ellison instructed the accounting firm to again audit the clients' trust account. Those auditors have confirmed, after completing their examination, that there is no evidence that the trust account has been tampered with. "There is no impact on clients or the underlying profitability of the firm, nor any impact on the firm's ongoing operations. The partners are the only people affected,” said McBride.

Immediately upon discovering the indications of fraudulent activity, the firm began a full investigation and sought expert forensic accounting assistance. That investigation is ongoing.  While federated with other offices in the Minter Ellison Legal Group, Minter Ellison SA/NT is a separate partnership and maintains completely separate financial accounts. The firm would not comment on the whereabouts of the main suspect while investigations are underway.

In NSW former Bartier Perry principal Kenneth John Rook has been struck off the register and may face criminal charges after he stole more than A$700,000 from an elderly client, reported The Sydney Morning Herald.  Rook’s activities were discovered after an investigation by the Law Society of NSW.

Meanwhile two ACT lawyers are under police investigation over allegations they stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from clients, according to The Canberra Times. Both men were expelled from the Canberra legal profession last year after being the subject of several complaints. The first man, who practised as a criminal lawyer, was referred to police by a manager appointed by the ACT Law Society last year when it seized control of the law firm following the man’s expulsion. The second man, whose alleged offending is not linked to that of the first, is suspected of taking thousands of dollars from up to 25 clients for legal work which was never done.