Vonda Pile is no longer allowed to practise law in Barbados, following a ruling by the Court of Appeal on Monday that she be disbarred.
However, her legal counsel, Michael Carrington soon after indicated that it is “very likely” his client will appeal.
The decision on Pile’s disbarment had ended speculation about her future as a lawyer, after she resumed her legal practice upon completing a near three-year prison sentence for stealing from a client.
Chief Justice Leslie Haynes, along with Justices of Appeal Francis Belle and Margaret Reifer, delivered the ruling after considering recommendations from the Disciplinary Committee of the Barbados Bar Association and hearing mitigation from Carrington.
Pile was convicted in 2019 of stealing $191 416.39 from former client Anstey King between April 29, 2009 and October 26, 2010.
After over a half hour of deliberation following the arguments, the Chief Justice ordered that “the name of Vonda Minerva Pile be struck off the roll of attorneys at law”. He further directed that the removal be published in the Official Gazette and that the Registrar notify the Bar Association and the Disciplinary Committee within three days. The Bar Association and the committee were also given liberty to serve the order to any relevant party.
He also made several other orders relating to how Pile’s client’s accounts should be managed, including that the Registrar produce, within ten days, a list of all civil, criminal, and probate matters in which Pile is listed on record, and give a copy of that list to her counsel, the Bar Association and its disciplinary committee.
A meeting is also to be held within seven days between Pile, the Bar Association president and its secretary, and the Registrar for handling and completion of all matters held by the attorney.
Pile must surrender all files to the Registrar who will make arrangements for clients to collect their files upon proper proof of identification and entitlement, and she must also produce a general ledger along with statements from her clients’ account.
The disgraced attorney is also immediately prohibited from withdrawing funds from any of the client accounts, and a copy of the court’s order is to be served on all relevant financial institutions.
Pile was also instructed to file an affidavit of compliance within 21 days of the order.
In its report, the Disciplinary Committee stated it unanimously agreed that Pile should be disbarred, arguing her conduct fell far below the standards of the legal profession and constituted professional misconduct beyond a reasonable doubt.
The committee noted her failed appeals to both the Court of Appeal and the Caribbean Court of Justice, and the fact that her conviction had been widely broadcast in the media. It said that her criminal conviction had “tainted the legal profession and caused the profession to fall into disrepute.”
Carrington had urged the court to consider a lesser sanction such as a fine or reprimand, arguing that disbarment amounted to “double jeopardy” since Pile had already served a sentence for the same offence.
“This court is not bound to just accept the recommendations. We recognise that the court may dismiss the application, or it may also impose an alternative sentence, which may be lesser,” he told the court.
“What the court has to take into consideration in the first place is that the reputation of the Bar as it is, cannot be rectified, replaced or salvaged by the disbarment of (Pile). We are dealing with the livelihood of the individual. I do not know that she has any other particular skills that she can offer, and therefore, that must be taken into consideration regarding any sanction that is imposed.
“In a real sense, she has already been tried, sentenced and paid her price to society with respect to the same set of acts for which she was convicted and sentenced to prison, which she served, and it seems to me that it is a double jeopardy. We are essentially seeking to punish (Pile) twice for the same offence for which she has already paid her debt to society.”
Speaking to Barbados TODAY outside the Supreme Court Complex after the decision was handed down, Carrington said the matter may go further.
“The court has made its decision. We will look at it and then make our decisions after that, but based on what I am seeing, it is very likely that there will be an appeal,” he said.
Solicitor General Anika Jackson appeared amicus for the Attorney General’s Office, while King’s Counsel Andrew Thornhill appeared amicus for the Bar Association.
jeniquebelgrave@barbadostoday.bb
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