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Why am I here?

A disgraced New Zealand barrister’s High Court appeal was deemed “irrelevant” by the judge moments after his lawyer arrived (late) wondering what the hell was going on.

November 20, 2012 By Justin Whealing
Why am I here?
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Earlier this month, the well-known, former Kiwi lawyer Barry Hart had an appeal against the ANZ Bank dismissed in those scathing terms by Justice Raynor Asher.

It is no surprise the esteemed judge labelled the action brought by Hart as “redundant and irrelevant” given that his lawyer, according to stuff.co.nz, arrived 15 minutes late and said she wanted “fuller and greater instructions” as to what the appeal was actually about.

Apparently, Hart was miffed at the way the bank handled the sale of several rural properties he owned.

Hart has been in a bit of trouble recently after he was struck from the legal profession in September for professional misconduct after over-charging clients.

In one matter it was reported that he charged a client $1000 an hour for work largely done by a junior who had been practising for only two months.

Really, the 71-year-old should have outsourced the work to an LPO provider in India.

While he was a barrister, Hart certainly enjoyed the trappings of wealth, owning a 2011 Ferrari Califiornia that he sold at a massive discount (unlike his legal fees) after he was barred from practice.

To make this story even more unbelievable, lawyers from ANZ did not seek costs in Hart’s failed High Court action.

Folklaw wonders why the bank was so generous to the pork-barrelling barrister?

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