1Where a solicitor terminates a retainer under a 'no win, no fee' costs agreement and no monies are presently due, no exercisable possessory lien over the client file arises, though a residual lien may attach upon a successful outcome of the litigation.
2The question of who terminated the retainer is to be determined as a matter of substance, not technicality, and where the solicitor terminated the retainer, the normal practice is to order delivery of documents to new solicitors subject to an undertaking to preserve the lien and return the file at the conclusion of the litigation.
3In the absence of an equivalent to s 728 of the Legal Profession Act 2004 (NSW), the ACT Supreme Court's inherent jurisdiction under s 20 of the Supreme Court Act 1933 (ACT) provides power to order release of a former solicitor's file.
