A Blenheim lawyer has been suspended for three years after being found guilty of negligence to a degree as to bring the profession into disrepute.
Gary Edward Sawyer pleaded guilty to two charges of misconduct and was found guilty on a third charge of negligence by the Lawyers and Conveyancers Disciplinary Tribunal.
One of the misconduct charges relates to forging signatures.
The tribunal found Mr Sawyer also failed to properly advise clients about the proposed sale of a commercial property. The second misconduct charge arose when he created false documents to cover it up.
Law Society president Chris Moore said on Tuesday that Mr Sawyer chose to take on work outside his areas of expertise and the tribunal decided by a very fine margin not to strike him off the roll altogether.
