A solicitor's fiduciary duty to disclose conflicts of interest and to account for unauthorised benefits is limited to the solicitor's actual knowledge of facts giving rise to the conflict. The duty does not extend to benefits received where the solicitor was ignorant of the circumstances creating the conflict at the time of acting. The dictum of Deane J in Chan v Zacharia (1984) 154 CLR 178 at 199, suggesting that a fiduciary may be liable to account for benefits received as a consequence of honest and conscientious performance of duty, should not be followed if intended to extend beyond unsolicited gratuities.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 16 later cases that cite this judgment.
3 of the 16 citing cases carry a classified treatment. How each court treated it is available to signed-in members.