The Law Society's Otago branch is "still progressing" its handling of three complaints against former Dunedin lawyer John Milne, over his allegedly having taken loans from clients in past years.
The Otago branch is preparing charges at present and plans to prosecute Mr Milne before the New Zealand Lawyers and Conveyancers Disciplinary Tribunal.
The Serious Fraud Office launched its own, separate investigation into Mr Milne in early August, and while understood to have spoken to some southern investors, it had not released any further information.
While taking loans is against Law Society rules, for some clients the question is whether they had lent money to Mr Milne, or were expecting returns from an investment, possibly placing them in a better compensation-claim position from the Law Society's two fidelity funds.
Convener of the standards committee of the Otago branch of the Law Society, David More, was contacted yesterday and said the issue "was progressing further", but was unable to release any updated details as "the matter was still in-committee", but an update was expected to be released in the future.
The extent of the loans had grown to about $2 million, with unconfirmed industry speculation there could be as much as $3.8 million involved, borrowed from more than 35 clients.
There has been a "limited response" by former clients of Mr Milne to joining a register of affected persons, launched by Dunedin solicitor Alistair Paterson in early September.
The register could collectively look at issues including clients' rights, their tax position, whether they would consider contributing to a joint action against Mr Milne, or potentially make a claim against the Law Society's fidelity funds.
Mr Milne no longer holds a practising certificate.
