Dutch celebrity lawyer Bram Moszkowicz lost his fight to be reinstated on Monday, when the legal profession’s disciplinary court upheld an earlier life-long ban.

Last October Moszkowicz had his right to practice law removed for bringing the profession into disrepute. He faced a string of complaints about his performance and claims he regularly accepted large amounts of cash from clients without informing the authorities.

The disciplinary court said on Monday it did not consider Moszkowicz had taken steps to improve himself, despite his earlier promises to do so.

Apology

Moszkowicz told the disciplinary appeal court in Den Bosch in February he was deeply sorry for the way he had scrimped on his administration and other matters. He said he would no longer accept cash payments for work and was also prepared to take on pro-deo cases.

Moszkowicz is a celebrity in the Netherlands. As well as taking on high-profile legal cases, he appears regularly on television chat shows and has appeared in a humorous television advert for an insurance company.

In the 1980s he hit the headlines for defending Cor van Hout and Willem Holleeder, who were later found guilty of kidnapping beer magnate Freddie Heineken. He was also criticised for being filmed dancing with Suriname’s military leader Desi Bouterse, whom he also defended.

Moszkowicz also successfully defended anti-Islam campaigner Geert Wilders on discrimination charges.