Cavan Lawyer Removed From Profession Over Client Fund Theft

A solicitor from County Cavan has been permanently barred from practising after an independent tribunal found he took almost €240,000 entrusted to him by clients and used it to buy real estate.

Cavan Lawyer Removed From Profession Over Client Fund Theft

A solicitor practising in Cavan town has been permanently barred from the legal profession after an independent panel found he took close to a quarter of a million euros that clients had entrusted to him and redirected it into property deals.

Ronan O'Brien, who ran Ronan O'Brien & Co Solicitors on Church Street, faced proceedings before the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal last year. He showed up to the first hearing and conceded several of the accusations against him, according to the Irish Times.

The tribunal upheld claims that O'Brien had taken €239,500 belonging to two separate clients. Some of this cash went toward his own purchase of a building in Cavan town, while another portion funded the acquisition of a different premises in the same town on behalf of yet another client.

The panel ruled that the conduct amounted to fraud and dishonesty, severely damaging public trust in the solicitor's profession. Members described the violations as lying at the extreme end of the seriousness scale — premeditated, recurring, and carried out for personal financial gain while leaving the rightful owners short.

Further wrongdoing included payouts made without permission, discrepancies in client account books, and poor record-keeping.

Despite noting that O'Brien had owned up to some wrongdoing, worked with investigators, and was dealing with personal hardships, the tribunal still advised that he be expelled from the register.

High Court president Judge David Barniville, in a judgment issued this week, accepted that recommendation. O'Brien had already been barred from working in 2024; the court has now made the expulsion permanent and told him to cover approximately €14,000 in expenses for the tribunal and the Law Society's court action.

Source: Irish Times