Celebrity solicitor Gerald Kean has been fined €20,000 after being found guilty of professional misconduct.
The lawyer – who is currently suing Rihanna on behalf of her ex-head of security – was found against by the Law Society.
The 57-year-old, who is engaged to Lisa Murphy, was found against on three counts of failing to properly represent client Christopher O’Neill.
Now Gerald plans to appeal to the High Court after it found he misled O’Neill and failed to tell him he would not be representing him.
Couple: Gerald and Lisa at the People of the Year Awards
“I utterly reject the findings and my advice has been to appeal. I am shocked by what has happened, something that has never happened in more than 25,000 cases I have worked on in my career,” he told the Independent.
“My phone hasn’t stopped ringing since the findings were made and I have received a huge amount of support… I totally reject the tribunal’s findings.”
The tribunal found that Kean knowingly misled his client and failed to inform O’Neill that he would not be representing him and thus failing to uphold a duty of care.
Previously, in April 2009 he pleaded guilty to a drink-driving charge and lost his licence for two years and one day. He was also fined €1,000 for the offence.
And in 2012 he was given a six-month driving ban and fined €80 after failing to appear in court on a speeding charge, but he is appealing this.
