National Legal Profession Uniform Law to Start Mid July
Wednesday 20 May 2015 @ 11.24 a.m. | Legal Research
From the middle of 2015 onwards, the regulation of the New South Wales legal profession will be changed by the Legal Profession Uniform Law. As we have previously reported, the Uniform Law will create a common legal services market across NSW and Victoria, encompassing almost three quarters of Australia’s lawyers. The scheme aims to harmonise regulatory obligations while retaining local performance of regulatory functions.
How the Uniform Law will Affect the Profession
The law will regulate the legal profession across the two jurisdictions (NSW and Victoria) and possibly other jurisdictions, should they opt to be included in the future. The matters to be governed include practising certificate types and conditions, maintaining and auditing of trust accounts, continuing professional development requirements, complaints handling processes, billing arrangements and professional discipline issues.
The Law Society of NSW will continue to perform its regulatory functions, including overseeing trust accounts and licensing. They will also work with the Office of the Legal Services Commissioner in relation to complaints about solicitor conduct.
The NSW Department of Justice has confirmed that transitional arrangements will be in place for government and corporate lawyers under the Uniform Law (these will be prescribed by regulations which are not yet available).
New Regulatory Bodies
The Uniform Law creates two bodies:
- The Legal Services Council; and
- The Commissioner for Uniform Legal Services Regulation, who also acts as CEO of the Legal Services Council.
Together these bodies will set the policy framework for the new scheme and refine the way it operates by:
- Making rules about how the scheme operates;
- Issuing guidelines and directions to local regulatory authorities to make sure the law operates consistently across jurisdictions; and
- Advising Attorneys-General on any potential amendments.
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