Legal Profession Uniform Law (NSW)

This Law may be cited as the Legal Profession Uniform Law (NSW).

This Law commences in a jurisdiction as provided by the Act of that jurisdiction that applies this Law as a law of that jurisdiction.

The objectives of this Law are to promote the administration of justice and an efficient and effective Australian legal profession, by—

providing and promoting interjurisdictional consistency in the law applying to the Australian legal profession; and

ensuring lawyers are competent and maintain high ethical and professional standards in the provision of legal services; and

enhancing the protection of clients of law practices and the protection of the public generally; and

empowering clients of law practices to make informed choices about the services they access and the costs involved; and

promoting regulation of the legal profession that is efficient, effective, targeted and proportionate; and

providing a co-regulatory framework within which an appropriate level of independence of the legal profession from the executive arm of government is maintained.

The operation of this Law is, as far as possible, to include operation, according to its terms, in relation to the following—

things situated within or outside the territorial limits of this jurisdiction;

acts, transactions and matters done, entered into or occurring within or outside the territorial limits of this jurisdiction;

things, acts, transactions and matters (wherever situated, done, entered into or occurring) that would, apart from this Law, be governed or otherwise affected by the law of another jurisdiction.

The arrangements set out in this section have effect, and are to be observed, in relation to this Law.

The host jurisdiction for this Law is Victoria.

The host Attorney-General for this Law is the Attorney-General of Victoria.

The host jurisdiction for the Council and the Commissioner is New South Wales.

The host Attorney-General for the Council and the Commissioner is the Attorney-General of New South Wales.

The primary office of the Council and the primary office of the Commissioner are to be located in New South Wales.

The Interpretation of Legislation Act 1984 of Victoria applies to the interpretation of this Law, the Uniform Regulations and the Uniform Rules in the same way as it applies to the interpretation of legislation and statutory instruments of Victoria.

Definitions, words and other expressions have in the Uniform Regulations or part of the Uniform Regulations the same meanings as they have in this Law or the relevant part of this Law, unless a contrary intention appears in this Law or the Uniform Regulations.

Definitions, words and other expressions have in the Uniform Rules or part of the Uniform Rules the same meanings as they have in this Law or the relevant part of this Law, unless a contrary intention appears in this Law or the Uniform Rules.

For the purposes of this Law, an Australian legal practitioner provides legal services on a pro bono basis where—

the practitioner, without fee, gain or reward or at a reduced fee, advises or represents a client in cases where—

the client would not otherwise have access to legal services; or

the client’s case raises a wider issue of public interest; or

the practitioner is involved in free community legal education or law reform; or

the practitioner is involved in the giving of free legal advice or representation to charitable and community organisations.

The objectives of this Part are—

to ensure, in the interests of the administration of justice, that legal work is carried out only by those who are properly qualified to do so; and

to protect clients of law practices by ensuring that persons carrying out legal work are entitled to do so.

An entity must not engage in legal practice in this jurisdiction, unless it is a qualified entity.

Penalty: 250 penalty units or imprisonment for 2 years, or both.

An entity is not entitled to recover any amount, and must repay any amount received, in respect of anything the entity did in contravention of subsection (1). Any amount so received may be recovered as a debt by the person who paid it.

Subsection (1) does not apply to an entity or class of entities declared by the Uniform Rules to be exempt from the operation of subsection (1), but only to the extent (if any) specified in the declaration.

An entity must not advertise or represent, or do anything that states or implies, that it is entitled to engage in legal practice, unless it is a qualified entity.

Penalty: 250 penalty units.

A director, partner, officer, employee or agent of an entity must not advertise or represent, or do anything that states or implies, that the entity is entitled to engage in legal practice, unless the entity is a qualified entity.

Penalty: 50 penalty units.

Titles This section applies to the following titles—

lawyer, legal practitioner, barrister, solicitor, attorney, counsel or proctor;

Senior Counsel, Queen’s Counsel, King’s Counsel, Her Majesty’s Counsel or His Majesty’s Counsel;

any other title specified in the Uniform Rules for the purposes of this section.

Entitlement to take or use title A person is entitled by force of this section to take or use a title to which this section applies if—

the person is of a class authorised by the Uniform Rules for the purposes of this section to take or use that title; and

where the Uniform Rules so provide—the person does so in circumstances, or in accordance with restrictions, specified in the Uniform Rules for the purposes of this section.

Presumption of representation of entitlement of person The taking or use of a title to which this section applies by a person gives rise to a rebuttable presumption (for the purposes of section 11(1)) that the person represented that he or she is entitled to engage in legal practice.

Presumption of representation of entitlement of entity The taking or use of a title to which this section applies by a person in connection with an entity, of which the person is a partner, director, officer, employee or agent, gives rise to a rebuttable presumption (for the purposes of section 11(2)) that the person represented that the entity is entitled to engage in legal practice.

A lay associate of a law practice does not contravene a provision of this Law or the Uniform Rules merely because of any of the following—

he or she receives any fee, gain or reward for business of the law practice that is the business of an Australian legal practitioner;

he or she holds out, advertises or represents himself or herself as a lay associate of the law practice where its business includes the provision of legal services;

he or she shares with any other person the receipts, revenue or other income of the law practice where its business is the business of an Australian legal practitioner—

unless the provision expressly applies to lay associates of law practices.