Advocates' immunity applies to a solicitor's negligent failure to advise of a statutory stay on proceedings, where that failure led to a decision to actively defend the stayed proceedings, even in a wasted costs case where no substantive judicial determination is challenged. The Legal Profession Act 1987 (NSW) assessment regime does not oust the court's power under UCPR 20.14 to refer the quantification of solicitor-client costs to a referee. On questions of professional legal practice, particularly in legal negligence cases, a court does not need expert evidence and can resort to its own knowledge of professional practices and standards; this applies a fortiori to determining the probable outcome of a hypothetical court application. The question of whether s 5D(3) of the Civil Liability Act 2002 renders self-serving statements inadmissible even when admitted without objection was left open.
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