A Brisbane man jailed for misrepresenting himself as a lawyer and offering legal advice is appealing his sentence.
Stephen Oluboyede Arulogun, who has never been admitted to the legal profession in Australia, was sentenced last month in Brisbane after pleading guilty to 65 charges brought against him by the Legal Services Commission (LSC).
In the District Court in Brisbane yesterday, counsel for Arulogun, who will be eligible for parole in February, made submissions that imprisonment was not an appropriate penalty.
In December 2021, after concerns raised by a Supreme Court judge, the LSC had obtained an injunction against Arulogun, who was describing himself as a “litigation process consultant”, which barred him from engaging in legal practice.
At that time, Arulogun had given undertakings personally, and in his capacity as a company director, to not engage in legal practice or advertise that he could do so, while not qualified.
However, he continued to engage in legal practice as an “industrial advocate”.
Commissioner Megan Mahon said at his sentencing on October 13: “Mr Arulogun’s conviction and incarceration for unlawfully providing legal services is a clear warning for any person offering legal services when they are not entitled to do so under the law.”
Judge Smith yesterday reserved his decision.
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