The Great Transitional Provisions Debacle #2

The Legal Profession Uniform Law commenced in Victoria and NSW on 1 July 2015. The Legal Profession Act 2004, which created the statutory office of Legal Services Commissioner was repealed at the same time, though transitional provisions gave the Act, and the office, ongoing operation. As explained by my last post, the new statutory office …

The great transitional provisions debacle #1

Update: The Bill became legislation when royal assent was given on 17 September 2019. Original post: There is a bill before the Victorian parliament, the Legal Profession Uniform Law Application Amendment Bill 2019. What the last few sections propose to do, rather sotto voce, is ‘validate’ retrospectively everything the Victorian Legal Services Commissioner has done …

Victorian proportionate liability scheme: transitional provisions

In Taylor v Gosling [2010] VSC 75, Justice Hargreave of the Supreme Court of Victoria has decided that whether the proportionate liability regime applies to a proceeding depends on whether the writ was issued before or after the end of 2003, even if some of the concurrent wrongdoer defendants were joined to the proceedings before …

Transitional provisions for introduction of Evidence Act, 2008 (Vic.)

Update, 4 March 2010: The changes to legal professional privilege apply retrospectively to communications which pre-date the commencement at the beginning of this year of the Evidence Act, 2008.  See this post. Update, 15 February 2010: ‘Quis Custodiet Ipsos Custodes’ has published a useful (but not exhaustive) summary of the provisions here. Original post: Before …

VCAT construes Legal Profession Act’s transitional provisions: “matter”

Alessi’s Appeal [2006] VCAT 1714 What could be more exciting than 8 pages of closely typed reasons for decision about a jurisdiction challenge based on fine dissection of the transitional provisions in the Legal Practice Act, 2004? If that pumps your yams, read on. Sub-clause (2) of clauses 8.2 and 8.3 of the transitional provisions …

Time limit for new disciplinary complaints against Victorian and NSW lawyers

Section 272 of the Legal Profession Uniform Law says complaints about lawyers, other than costs disputes, must be about conduct alleged to have occurred within the three years before the date of the complaint. Since today is the 4th anniversary of the commencement of the LPUL, you might think that conduct nearly six years ago …

Costs in disciplinary prosecutions under the Legal Profession Act 2004: excellent news for disciplined solicitors?

Summary The Legal Profession Act 2004 was repealed on 1 July 2015.  But transitional provisions probably give it ongoing life in relation to all disciplinary investigations which commenced prior to that date (see this blog post), even where the resultant disciplinary prosecution post-dates 1 July 2015.  This post suggests that such prosecutions in VCAT (of …

Disciplinary prosecution halted because Law Society’s reasons for deciding to prosecute were inadequate

Updates, 3 & 4 February 2019: The NSW Court of Appeal dismissed the Law Society’s appeal in Levitt: [2018] NSWCA 247; meanwhile a decision to like effect was made in AB v Law Society of NSW [2018] NSWSC 1975, the subject of this blog post. Original post: The NSW Supreme Court has quashed decisions of the …

Privilege and disciplinary investigations

Lawyers have an obligation proactively to assert and protect the privilege enjoyed by their clients and former clients: Re Stanhill Consolidated Ltd [1967] VR 749 at 752. I wrote about it in this post about the Legal Profession Act 2004 (Vic).  Lawyers have no implied or, I would suggest, ostensible authority to waive privilege belonging to former …

The Bureau de Spank’s obligation not to publish about disciplinary orders until lawyers’ appeal rights are spent

Parliament is considering a bill to re-instate the disciplinary register, and to prohibit the Bureau de Spank from trumpeting its successes before the respondent practitioners’ appeal rights are exhausted: Legal Profession Uniform Law Application Amendment Bill 2016 (Vic.).  Cl. 150E of the Bill proposes to prohibit the Legal Services Board from providing to the public information about disciplinary …

Switch from party-party to standard basis not retrospective per SCV

Update, 23 September 2013:  See also, to similar effect, but in relation to the Federal Court’s Rules: Territory Realty Pty Ltd v Garraway (No 3) [2013] FCA 914.  And in Metlife Insurance Ltd v Montclare, 4 September 2013, the Costs Judge, Wood AsJ, found that interlocutory orders made prior to 1 April 2013 may still …

Costs disclosure obligations and consequences of not complying: part 1

Here begins a series of posts on costs disclosure obligations under the Legal Profession Act, 2004, and the consequences of not complying with them.  It is a work in process, and I would be grateful for any experiences of this area of the law you might have, and any authorities of interest which I have …

Changes to legal professional privilege operate retrospectively

They’ve changed the law in relation to legal professional privilege on us. The common law has been abolished, at least in relation to compulsory processes (discovery, subpoenas, interrogatories, notice to produce) in fora where the new Evidence Act, 2008 applies, and the adduction of evidence in those fora. Two legal professional privilege regimes are now …

Basic facts and useful resources about the uniform evidence legislation

Now I have too many words in my Advanced Evidence paper, so you can have the first off-cut. The uniform evidence legislation is comprised of: The Evidence Act, 1995 (Cth.), which commenced almost 15 years ago on 18 April 1995; The Evidence Act, 1995 (NSW), which commenced on 1 September 1995; The Evidence Act, 2001 …

How to deal with a Legal Services Commissioner complaint

In the 2007-08 financial year, the Legal Services Commissioner (aka the Bureau de Spank on this blog) received 2033 complaints (801 civil complaints, and 1584 disciplinary complaints).  That’s one for every 7 of the 13,837 lawyers who worked in Victoria as at the end of March 2008.  17% of them were characterised as mixed civil …

Links to the states’ and territories’ Legal Profession Acts

What follows are links to the Acts which regulate lawyers in each state and territory, ordered by date of principal commencement, commencement details, and, where available, links to the predecessor Act.  South Australia is yet to catch up with the rest of Australia, stuck with its Legal Practitioners Act, 1981.  Everyone else has Acts in …