The High Court has ordered that missing solicitor Michael Lynn be struck off the roll of solicitors and pay a total of €2m in fines to the Law Society.
There was no appearance by Mr Lynn at today's brief hearing before the President of the High Court, Mr Justice Richard Johnson, of the proceedings brought against him by the Society.
Mr Lynn, who has estimated liabilities of more than €80m to various financial institutions and others, has failed to turn up since late last year for multiple court appearances related to those liabilities and his conduct.
The report of the Society's Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT), recommending fine and strike off, was presented last month to Mr Justice Johnson and today Mr Shane Murphy SC, for the Society, asked him to implement the recommendations.
Mr Murphy said the tribunal had said Mr Lynn was not a fit person to be a member of the solicitor's profession. Mr Justice Johnson said he saw 'no reason whatsoever' not to make the orders sought and he did so.
He made orders striking Mr Lynn off and fined Mr Lynn a total of €2m. The judge also referred the papers in the case to the Director of Public Prosecutions and to the Garda Fraud Squad and awarded costs of the proceedings against Mr Lynn and he continued orders freezing Mr Lynn's accounts.
Last month, the SDT found Mr Lynn guilty of some 50 charges, including charges of securing loans from different institutions on the basis of multiple undertakings on the same properties.
Tribunal chairman Frank Daly said Mr Lynn had acted in 'a disgraceful fashion' and had 'ruthlessly used' the system of solicitors' undertakings for property transactions 'to his own fraudulent advantage'.
However, the grave abuse of that system by Mr Lynn was not proof that the system of undertakings as a whole was defective, he said.
Mr Daly said Mr Lynn had caused hardship and distress to many people trying to go about their business in addition to financial loss to people and institutions.
Also today, the court adjourned to separate proceedings involving solicitor Thomas Byrne to June 9. Mr Byrne’s practice at Walkinstown Road, Dublin, has been closed by the Law Society.
The SDT has recommended Mr Byrne be struck off the roll of solicitors and be fined €1m and that matter will be dealt with on June 9 in addition to other matters, including Mr Byrne's application to carry a freezing order on his bank accounts to enable him meet certain expenses.
Mr Byrne was in court today when the judge made orders requiring National Irish Bank to pay out a sum of €427,000 in Mr Byrne's client account in the bank, which has been frozen by court order, to the Law Society's Compensation Fund.
The society sought those orders to go towards payments of more than €600,000 already made from that fund to Mr Byrne's clients.
