Lawyer who withheld client’s divorce settlement faces suspension

A lawyer who failed to pay her client the money received from a divorce settlement is now facing suspension after the Legal Practice Council’s (LPC) decision to take her to court.

Council spokesperson Kabelo Letebele said that the Gauteng provincial office had resolved to apply for an urgent suspension of attorney Fhatuwani Frederica Moila of Moila Attorneys.

Moila was found guilty of conduct that brought the legal profession into disrepute after appearing before a disciplinary hearing in November that she attended together with the complainant.

Moila’s client’s divorce was finalised in 2022, with a settlement reached in 2023.

The client, however, never received the settlement of R130,000 owed to her.

Moila pleaded guilty to bringing the profession into disrepute.

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Letebele said the disciplinary committee had recommended an inspection and investigation into Moila’s firm’s financial records.

“Once the inspection has been completed and a report finalised, the complainant will be informed accordingly,” he said.

Moila is also facing two other matters – an estate matter and a divorce matter – which are still in preliminary stages.

“Both complaints relate to failure to account,” Letebele said.

In one of the divorce matters, Moila pleaded guilty to three charges, including failing to respond to correspondence and telephone calls from the council, as well as failing to comply with its directives.

“As a result of the aforesaid, the respondent hampered the ability of the council to carry out its function to investigate the complaint,” said Letebele.

Moila’s client previously told Sowetan that she believed her attorney had misused the funds.

She said she had not received a cent from her more than R130,000 divorce settlement.

“This matter has been dragging on for a long time. My heart has been sore since 2022, and I still do not have the money. I have not had any communication with her,” she said at the time.

In her complaint to the LPC, the woman said she did not doubt her lawyer “illegally utilised my money for her own benefit, that is the reason she cannot show any proof of my money’s whereabouts”.

Sowetan.