A gay Auckland lawyer's Legal Services Agency listing has been cancelled after he piled up hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of taxpayer-funded legal aid in the past four years. One News reports West Auckland barrister Brett Ravelich has been banned from accessing legal aid after concerns about the quality of his services. He was among three lawyers whose names were published on the Legal Services Agency website, the first time the agency has done so. Ravelich received $435,161.49 in payment for legal aid services in the four years to June 2010. LSA General Manager Stuart White says serious matters have led to the agency taking the action and a decision about whether to involve the police will be made in due course. He says reasons for cancelling a lawyer included incompetence, dishonesty, billing issues, not supervising appropriately, or using non-lawyers for legal aid services. Ravelich has appealed the decision, but that was dismissed. He has told One News it was unfair to ban him from the legal aid fund and that he had turned matters over to the Auditor General. Aside from practicing law, Ravelich is understood to be a backer of new K' Rd bar The Eagle. While the bar is not a 'gay bar', it has gay staff and has been attracting a queer crowd.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Thursday, 7th October 2010 - 2:17pm