A Port Macquarie lawyer has been reprimanded and fined for assisting a client with the sale of a property in circumstances where he was also the creditor and second mortgagee.
The NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal’s deputy president Stuart Westgarth has reprimanded and issued a $3,000 fine to Christopher Francis McCarron, a consultant for Port Macquarie firm HB Legal, for engaging in a conflict of interest from about 2016 onwards.
McCarron was admitted in November 1970 and has practised across several firms, including once as principal solicitor.
According to an agreed statement of facts, McCarron assisted with the sale of two properties despite having a personal interest in the outcome, with his self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF) having a claimed debt of about $250,000 over one of the properties.
Westgarth, along with tribunal members Michelle Sindler and Elayne Hayes, agreed with the Council of the NSW Law Society that McCarron breached his fiduciary duty by acting for the client and representing his own interests within the same transaction.
“We agree with the applicant’s characterisation of the conduct of the respondent, namely that the respondent’s [conduct] amounted to a serious conflict of interest,” Westgarth, Sindler, and Hayes said.
In 2005, prior to the complainant becoming a client, McCarron’s self-managed superannuation fund loaned him about $30,000. Three years later, a further $13,000 was loaned to the complainant.
Following a failure to make repayments of any principal and interest during 2008, the complainant owed approximately $83,000.
In 2015, two of the complainant’s properties had been mortgaged to several third parties it owed outstanding debts to. The McCarron fund had a claimed debt of $250,000 over one of the properties.
McCarron acted for the complainant with respect to the sale of the property and also acted as a representative for the superannuation fund in its negotiations with the other creditors and/or mortgagees.
As a result of those negotiations, the McCarron Fund was assigned the mortgages for both properties. From about October 2016, McCarron assisted with the conditions of the sale of a property.
While McCarron submitted he did not receive any benefit from his involvement, the tribunal was told it was clear he used his dual position to negotiate with other creditors an alternative arrangement that resulted in him holding a mortgage over both properties.
The tribunal heard that a further benefit was that McCarron was able to exercise the power of sale, selling one of the properties, and to execute and register a new mortgage with the purchaser.
McCarron said he “stupidly believed that by following instructions” he could wear “two hats”, but now deeply regretted the decision.
His affidavit stated he had no intention of ever seeking to reapply for admission, bringing his 50-year career to an end. The tribunal said it meant there was “little point” in taking steps to deter him.
“There is no doubt that the conduct was serious, going to the heart of the solicitor-client relationship,” the tribunal said.
“In the respondent’s favour, it may be said that the conduct did not involve the intermingling of money, nor was there evidence that the respondent actually took steps to prefer his own interests over those of the clients.”
The case: The Council of the Law Society of New South Wales v McCarron [2025] NSWCATOD 154.
Naomi Neilson is a senior journalist with a focus on court reporting for Lawyers Weekly.
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