A lawyer created a fake obituary to justify taking bereavement leave after discovering her estranged family had concealed her sister-in-law's death.
Kelly Anne Jamieson only learned of the death two years after it occurred, and was "horrified" it had been concealed.
While taking time off, her employers pressed her for more details about her absence. "Foolishly", Jemison doubled down, creating a fake obituary.
It "did not require much cross-checking" from her employers and, when confronted, Jamieson immediately admitted to the dishonesty.
She resigned from the firm and self-reported to the Law Society, also seeking professional help to examine why she reacted in the "out-of-character" way she did.
The Lawyers and Conveyancers Disciplinary Tribunal held a hearing in August and, in its decision this month, said the lawyer was ashamed to be in such a position.
"It was this, and her general state of distress at the news, which prevented her from doing what she ought to have done, which was to have explained the situation to her employers and asked for some time to process what she had learned."
She has not worked since the incident.
The Tribunal said that while dishonesty was "concerning in any practitioner", her actions did not reach the highest level of misconduct and no clients were harmed.
There were also "no other aspects of the complaint which would suggest Ms Jamieson was other than a competent lawyer", having a clean record across 20 years of practice.
In its judgement, the tribunal wrote: "Ms Jamieson, as you are aware, a lawyer’s integrity is a precious commodity. That lawyers must be able to be completely trusted to uphold the high standards of the profession is also essential to maintain confidence in the profession.
"You briefly slipped below the required standard when you misled your employer about your absence from work."
As a result, Jamison was censured and ordered to pay costs.
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