Lawyer suspended for "bringing the profession into disrepute"

Tuesday 21 January 2025

A lawyer who attacked a taxi driver while drunk will be able to work again in less than a month after his three-month suspension was backdated to when he voluntarily withdrew from practice.

Advocate David Steenson, who regularly represented defendants in the Royal Court, appeared in the Magistrate’s Court on 17 December.

The 56-year-old pled guilty to a common assault which was committed on the evening of 13 November. 

He was sentenced to 130 hours of community service for the offence and ordered to pay £2,420.

Pictured: Steenson was represented in court by Advocate Paul Nicholls, who works alongside him at their law firm Steenson Nicholls.

Steenson repeatedly punched the driver in a dispute over payment and left him with multiple cuts and bruises to his face.

The driver suffered no permanent physical injuries but was left "afraid to carry out his daily job", the court heard, and was "nervous about the passengers he carries".

Steenson was described as a "highly regarded" lawyer who had "seriously screwed up" by his defence advocate who said he would "inevitably" face sanction by the Jersey Law Society.

The Royal Court decided yesterday to suspend Steenson for three months for breaching principle two of the Jersey Law Society’s Code of Conduct, "bringing the profession into disrepute", after his case was referred to the court by the Attorney General.

The suspension was backdated to 14 November, when the advocate voluntarily withdrew from practice, meaning Steenson will be able to resume practising on 14 February.

A written judgment setting out the court's reasoning will be published "in due course".

The Law Society said it would be making no further comments.