Lawyer disbarred in US gets top post in Guyana

Shaun Orville Allicock, a lawyer who was admitted to the Guyana Bar in October 1998, was disbarred months later in United States of America, on August 6, 1999.
According to reports, he continues to practice as a partner with a local law firm. He has also been employed as Company Secretary of the Guyana Securities Council.
That entity is a statutory body tasked with regulating the local stock exchange.
Allicock was disciplined in the US in March 1998, and was ordered to notify his clients and other interested parties that he was suspended from practice and to submit an affidavit to that effect to the Supreme Court. He failed to submit the affidavit.
His misconduct, in the US Jurisdiction, which began less than two years after he was licensed to practice law, included commingling client and personal funds in his clients’ trust account, failure to deposit clients’ funds in his trust account, paying personal expenses from that account and misappropriating clients’ funds.
He also failed to perform legal services competently in four client matters, communicate with clients in two matters, promptly pay a medical lien or keep his address current with the State Bar.
“In addition, he improperly withdrew from employment in three matters and entered into an improper business transaction with a client.”
Allicock was suspended for three years, stayed, and placed on three years of probation with an actual 18-month suspension and until he made restitution to three clients.
Allicock stipulated that he mishandled his clients’ trust account by failing to deposit full amounts of settlement checks, commingling personal and clients’ funds, misappropriating clients’ funds and failing to keep proper records.
He also admitted to four counts of failing to perform legal services competently.
Allicock also dismissed a racial discrimination case filed on behalf of a client in federal court, promising to re-file it in state court.
He did not return 17 phone calls from the client and never re-filed the matter.
However, he persuaded the client to agree to loan him US$10,000 to help buy a bulldozer for a gold-mining operation in Guyana.
In exchange for the loan, the client would receive either a one-sixth interest in the bulldozer or a share of the lease agreement on the mine and partnership.
Allicock borrowed an additional US$7,000 from the client and caused him to incur about US$1,500 in cellular phone charges.
He had signed a note agreeing to pay the client US$8,500 and in neither of the business transactions, did Allicock advise the client in writing that he could seek independent counsel.
Allicock also did not pay a medical lien for one client in a personal injury case.
In an insurance dispute he handled for another client, he failed to finalize the settlement for two and a half years.