Stephen Warne on professional negligence, regulation and discipline around the world

The Australian Professional Liability Blog random header image

Entries Tagged as 'Advocates' Immunity'

Misfeasance in public office claim against solicitor survives immunity strike out application

June 5th, 2008 · No Comments

The latest advocates' immunity case is Noori v Leerdam [2008] NSWSC 515. The defendant solicitor was said to have been guilty of misfeasance in public office constituted by work he did for Phillip Ruddock as Immigration Minister in relation to merits review litigation about the plaintiff, an Afghan refugee applicant who rotted in an [...]

[Read more →]

Tags: Advocates' Immunity · Barristers' immunity

NSW Court of Appeal on advocates' immunity for out of court work

May 20th, 2008 · No Comments

The NSW Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal from a decision finding that a solicitor was not immune from a negligence suit based on a failure to prepare evidence promptly, though its comments in relation to immunity were obiter dicta [102]. Although the evidence did get adduced after a change of solicitors and before the [...]

[Read more →]

Tags: Advocates' Immunity · Barristers' immunity · Forensic immunity · Negligence · Wasted costs · defences

Cases, cases

December 15th, 2007 · No Comments

Update, 19 February 2008: Fellow Melbourne law blogger Legal Eagle has kindly written a case note on Equuscorp v Wilmoth Field Warne.
Update, 21 December 2007: Another two advocates' immunity cases:
1. Symonds v Vass [2007] NSWSC 1274, 36,000 words, after nearly 3 weeks of trial. See Ysaiah Ross's case note in his article [...]

[Read more →]

Tags: Admission · Advocates' Immunity · Barristers' immunity · Legal Profession Act · Professional fees and disbursements · Retainers · setting aside costs agreements

Judge says finality has overtaken intimate connection as immunity touchstone

December 2nd, 2007 · No Comments

A New South Wales District Court judge has handed down an important decision on advocates' immunity, which is under appeal. The case is Fowler v La Fontaine [2007] NSWDC 207. It is a case which explores what the test for the immunity really is now that the High Court has said 'it's [...]

[Read more →]

Tags: Advocates' Immunity · Barristers' immunity · Forensic immunity · Negligence · defences

2nd edition of Professional Liability in Australia reviewed

October 18th, 2007 · No Comments

I was already a fan of the first edition of Judge Stephen Walmsley SC, Alister Abadee, and Ben Zipser's excellent Professional Liability in Australia, published by Thomson, and had been waiting for the new edition with interest. I got myself a copy the other day. It's good, and there are substantial additions since [...]

[Read more →]

Tags: Advocates' Immunity · Barristers' immunity · Book reviews · Causation · Discipline · Duties to third parties · Ethics · Fair Trading Act · Fiduciary duties · Forensic immunity · Legal Profession Act · Legal writing · Limitations of actions · Misconduct · Negligence · Professional regulation · Proportionate Liability · Retainers · Striking off · Uncategorized · Wasted costs · conflicts · defences · doctors · duties of confidentiality · legal professional privilege · two bites at the cherry

NSW Supreme Court says solicitor immune from suit for out of court omissions

October 12th, 2007 · 1 Comment

The New South Wales Supreme Court yesterday gave judgment for a solicitor on an advocates' immunity defence to a claim of professional negligence in respect of out of court work by the solicitor. The decision of Justice James was in the matter of Coshott v Barry [2007] NSWSC 1094. This disciplinary decision seems to be [...]

[Read more →]

Tags: Advocates' Immunity · Barristers' immunity · Discipline · Forensic immunity · Negligence · defences

Latest English solicitors' liability newsletter

October 11th, 2007 · No Comments

Here's the latest from Reynolds Porter Chamberalain. Contents this edition include:
The High Court considers the scope of a solicitor’s duty of care in his dealings with an unsophisticated client
In Phelps v (1) Stewarts and (2) Dinsmore [2007] EWHC 1561 (Ch) the Court rejected a solicitor’s argument that her retainer was of a limited nature, [...]

[Read more →]

Tags: Advocates' Immunity · Barristers' immunity · Negligence · Retainers

Advocates' immunity and the wasted costs jurisdiction

September 20th, 2007 · No Comments

In Macteldir Pty Limited v Roskov [2007] FCAFC 49, my old firm Middletons convinced a unanimous Full Federal Court to pronounce sternly that advocates' immunity may not be circumvented by a client seeking to invoke the wasted costs jurisdiction of the Court against its own former lawyers, and to re-emphasise emphatically that the wasted [...]

[Read more →]

Tags: Advocates' Immunity · Barristers' immunity · Wasted costs

Solicitors' settlement advice immune from suit

August 18th, 2007 · No Comments

I know for a fact that the profession does not understand the extent of the advocates' immunity which is set out in the decision of the majority in D'Orta-Ekenaike v Victoria Legal Aid [2005] 223 CLR 1. Not uncommonly I see lawyers' negligence claims arising out of litigation being defended without claiming the immunity, [...]

[Read more →]

Tags: Advocates' Immunity · Barristers' immunity · Forensic immunity · Negligence · defences

WA Supreme Court says advocates' immunity applies to misleading and deceptive conduct claims against lawyers

May 9th, 2007 · No Comments

In Alpine Holdings Ltd v Feinauer[2007] WASC 58, the Supreme Court of Western Australia gave very short shrift indeed to an argument that a statutory claim of misleading and deceptive conduct was not met by advocates' immunity. The decision is interesting for this reason alone. It is also interesting because of:

the Court's willingness to [...]

[Read more →]

Tags: Advocates' Immunity · Barristers' immunity · Forensic immunity · Negligence · defences