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 [...]
Entries Tagged as 'Advocates' Immunity'
Misfeasance in public office claim against solicitor survives immunity strike out application
June 5th, 2008 · No Comments
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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, [...]
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 [...]
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, [...]
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 [...]
Tags: Advocates' Immunity · Barristers' immunity · Forensic immunity · Negligence · defences

