Powered by
MOMENTUM
MEDIA
A Victorian solicitor has been reprimanded and suspended for three months for forging another practitioner’s name on two legal documents, causing the latter significant anxiety and stress.
Orry Paul Pilven, a legal director, forged the signature of a friend – also a legal practitioner who worked nearby – onto the execution page of a legal document and on a certificate of advice.
The documents were then sent to the other party’s lawyer to sign and witness, and were then filed with a government authority.
The misconduct was revealed when the other party’s lawyer reached out to Pilven’s friend, believing him to be Pilven’s lawyer, and asked that he initial parts of the document that had been overlooked.
The friend, who filed the complaint with the Victorian Legal Services Commissioner, gave evidence that this misconduct impacted him professionally and caused him “anxiety and stress”, deepened by the fact that Pilven’s firm was acting for him on an unrelated matter.
While it did not have an impact on the other party, their lawyer, or on the government department, the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) noted in its decision that it “had the potential to have such an impact” had it not been incidentally uncovered.
Although the conduct was also found to be “less morally reprehensible than conduct engaged in for malice or greed”, VCAT senior member Cassandra Tanner found it to be deliberate.
“The evidence is to the effect that the respondent did not unfairly seek to benefit financially from the legal documents.
“Still, he did obtain the benefit of having his legal issue dealt with expeditiously, avoiding an ongoing dispute. Though not malicious intentions, they involved dishonesty that circumvented proper processes,” Tanner said in her written reasons.
VCAT noted the commissioner’s concern that Pilven has not really acknowledged the potential impact on the government authority.
“The tribunal encourages the respondent to give this greater thought in his future reflections, though it is not a matter of significance that affects the outcome in this case,” Tanner said.
In addition to the reprimand and suspension, Pilven was ordered to complete two extra continuing professional development points in the field of ethics and professional responsibility and to pay $15,000 to cover the commissioner’s costs.
Citation: Victorian Legal Services Commissioner v Pilven [2026] VCAT 460.
