Wannabe solicitor Jacob Reichman to appeal conviction
A Gold Coast law graduate convicted for posing as a solicitor claimed he was only following orders and will lodge an appeal.
Jacob Lazar Reichman was fined $1500, ordered to pay $4000 in costs and had a conviction recorded in the Brisbane Magistrates Court on Wednesday.
It's the second time the 24-year-old has been charged with engaging in legal practice when not entitled after pleading guilty to a similar charge in 2014.
Jacob Reichman arrives at the Magistrates Court in Brisbane on Sept. 7. Photo: AAP
Reichman, in his sixth year of employment with Gold Coast barrister Chris Rosser, said the conviction may prevent him becoming a lawyer and he must appeal.
"I feel unjustly targeted in this case as I was simply doing as my employer told me to do, I never had my own clients nor did I set up my own firm," he said in a statement.
"Whilst I respect the court's ruling, the present advice from my experienced legal representatives is that I must appeal this decision to a higher court to obtain a just result."
Jacob Lazar Reichman was fined $1500, ordered to pay $4000 in costs on Wednesday. Photo: AAP
Magistrate Noel Nunan said Reichman was "brazen" to again act as a solicitor after he'd been fined $1000 two years ago.
He did not believe a conviction would preclude Reichman from becoming a lawyer and even praised him for his work during interviews
"It looked like he was doing a reasonable job during all of these interviews," he said.
"There's a lot of incompetent solicitors running around the place, giving legal advice, giving criminal legal advice. I see it daily."
Reichman was found to have acted in a legal capacity 12 times during visits to Gold Coast police stations and a watch house.
