Giving information to Law Society for insurance
379 Giving information to Law Society for insurance
(1) For providing professional indemnity insurance, the chief executive officer of the Law Society may, by written notice, require a law practice to give the chief executive officer or an insurer or other person with whom an agreement or arrangement is entered under section 378 specified information within a specified reasonable time about:
(a) the number of people the law practice employs or formerly employed; and
the duties performed by each of those people; and
(c) the gross income received by the law practice from fees in a specified period; and
(d) any claims made against the law practice in relation to any alleged civil liability arising from:
the practice or former practice of the law practice; or
(ii) the administration of any trust or deceased estate of which the law practice is, or formerly was, a trustee, executor or administrator; or
(e) anything else prescribed by the regulations or legal profession rules.
(2) If a law practice that is an Australian legal practitioner who is a sole practitioner, or an incorporated legal practice, fails to comply with the requirement, the practitioner or practice is guilty of an offence.
Maximum penalty: 100 penalty units.
(3) If a law practice that is a law firm or multi-disciplinary partnership fails to comply with the requirement, each principal of the practice is guilty of an offence.
Maximum penalty: 100 penalty units.
(4) It is a defence to a prosecution for an offence against subsection (2) or (3) if the practitioner, practice or principal has a reasonable excuse.
(5) The chief executive officer of the Society is guilty of an offence if the chief executive officer:
(a) discloses information given under subsection (1) (protected information) to someone else; or
(b) does something that discloses protected information to someone else and is reckless about whether:
the information is protected information; or
doing the thing would result in the information being disclosed.
Maximum penalty: 400 penalty units or imprisonment for 2 years.
Subsection (5) does not apply to the disclosure of information:
(a) necessary for arranging professional indemnity insurance to law practices; or
(b) to an insurer or other person with whom an agreement or arrangement is entered under section 378; or
with the prior consent in writing of the law practice; or
to a court or tribunal in the course of legal proceedings; or
(e) under an order of a court or tribunal under another Act or law; or
(f) to the extent the disclosure is reasonably required to enable the enforcement or investigation of the criminal law.
This provision refers to the regulations (prescribed by the regulations
). Made under this Act:
This Act’s bill:Explanatory statementSecond reading speech
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