Links with DPP lawyer in Einfeld parking case, The Australian, 30 August, 2006.
Links with DPP lawyer in Einfeld parking case: [1 All-round Country Edition]
Chris Merritt, John Stapleton. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 30 Aug 2006: 3.
Abstract
Solicitor Gaurav de Fontgalland, who represented Mr Einfeld over a disputed parking ticket yesterday, is related to DPP lawyer Shirani de Fontgalland.
Ms de [Fontgalland] is a former honorary representative in South Asia of Mr [Marcus Einfeld]'s company. In 2004, she attended a legal seminar in Sri Lanka with Mr Einfeld and NSW DPP Nicholas Cowdery.
Credit: Gaurav de Fontgalland, Shirani de Fontgalland, Marcus Einfeld
Full Text
THE solicitor who appeared for former judge Marcus Einfeld over a parking fine matter yesterday is related to a lawyer in the office of the NSW Director of Public Prosecutions.
Solicitor Gaurav de Fontgalland, who represented Mr Einfeld over a disputed parking ticket yesterday, is related to DPP lawyer Shirani de Fontgalland.
Ms Fontgalland also has long-standing links with Mr Einfeld's failed company, Australian Legal Resources International.
NSW Opposition legal affairs spokesman Chris Hartcher demanded the DPP ensure transparency in any assessment of the police investigation into Mr Einfeld, who claimed a dead woman was driving his car when it was clocked speeding in January. "It should be ensuring the community can have confidence due process is followed," Mr Hartcher said.
The former Federal Court judge pleaded guilty yesterday to disobeying a no-stopping sign at Bondi Junction on January 5. He was fined $75 and ordered to pay court costs of $67. planned to dispute the fine, but changed his mind.
Mr Einfeld's case was handled by Mr de Fontgalland, who was admitted as a solicitor less than five months ago. He joined the defence team after solicitor Michael Ryan stepped aside over disclosures of a long-standing relationship with a prostitute.
Mr Einfeld did not attend court, but in a statement to the magistrate, he pleaded his case for leniency. "I was only in the parking spot for a very short time, perhaps five to eight minutes. I cannot walk far as I have a pin in my left leg as a result of a fractured femur. Furthermore I also had my mother with me, who is frail and elderly," he wrote.
Police are still considering whether to take action against Mr Einfeld over his evidence in the speeding case.
Two other traffic offences, which Mr Einfeld beat in 1999 and 2000 by blaming an Australian academic based in the US, are also under police investigation.
Ms de Fontgalland is a former honorary representative in South Asia of Mr Einfeld's company. In 2004, she attended a legal seminar in Sri Lanka with Mr Einfeld and NSW DPP Nicholas Cowdery.
The Office of the DPP declined yesterday to say how many of its other lawyers had links to the company.
Credit: Gaurav de Fontgalland, Shirani de Fontgalland, Marcus Einfeld