Departments

This page describes the following Departments at QLS:

Member Central

The ability of the QLS to provide timely and cost effective services, support and products to its members is vital to ensuring the relevance of the QLS to today’s practitioners. This has best been recognised by the creation of Member Central.

The growth of the profession has created unique challenges to the QLS in its goal to meet the professional, educational and social networking requirements of a changing membership. The challenge for the Society has been to ensure resources are targeted to guarantee member’s gain value for their membership subscription, whether they are a junior practitioner, associate, director or partner of a law practice. Equally, the QLS has acknowledged the importance of engaging the practitioners of the future by the introduction of student membership for tertiary students.

As the practice of law has become more specialised so too has the role of the Society in meeting the different needs of its members. The challenge for the QLS is to ensure it is not left behind and that it develops services, support and products that are relevant to the individual practitioner.

With this delivery of targeted and valuable member services, support and products being central to ensuring engagement with the membership, a number of previously disparate services within the QLS have now been grouped under the one department, ‘Member Central’.

Member Central brings together the following functions within the QLS:-

  • Continuing Legal Education (CLE)
  • Professional Development (Specialist accreditation, PMC and resources)
  • Member relations (including CPD)
  • Client Relations Centre – including ethical advice
  • Ethics
  • Records
  • Marketing and Communications (including the Schools and Community Education Service)
  • Corporate Services

Director of Operations - Member Central is Peter Lyons.

Office of General Counsel

The Office of General Counsel is responsible for:

  • the provision of in-house legal advice to the Society’s President, Chief Executive Officer and its officers
  • maintaining the register and safe custody of corporate contracts
  • processing applications under the Right to Information Act 2009 and privacy regime under the Information Privacy Act 2009

General Counsel is Malcolm Hinton.

Advocacy & Accountability

Policy Section

The Policy Section plays a vital role at the QLS by helping the organisation represent the views of Queensland practitioners and making the Society relevant to members’ practice by:

  • developing submissions to government for law reform
  • developing discussion papers for the Society on contemporary legal issues

In addition to the work on national legal reform and special projects, Policy produces and facilitates the QLS sections and committees in sending submissions to government on a broad spectrum of issues affecting the profession and the public.

One of the major roles performed by the Queensland Law Society as a peak legal professional body is ensuring the development of sound legal policy and legislation in our jurisdiction, not only to benefit the members of the Society or the legal profession, but for the benefit of all the citizens of this State. The Policy Section plays an integral role in achieving this.

Professional Standards Section

The Professional Standards Section consists of three operational branches:

  • Complaint Investigations
  • Trust Account Investigations
  • Fidelity Fund / External Intervention

The Professional Conduct Committee, a Committee of the Council of the Queensland Law Society Incorporated, oversees the operations of Complaint Investigations and Trust Account Investigations. The Committee, which meets monthly.

The Committee of Management, another Committee of the Council of the Queensland Law Society Incorporated, oversees the operation of the Fidelity Guarantee Fund and in particular, the consideration of claims made against the Fund by clients who claim to have suffered financial loss as the result of a dishonest default by an associate of a law practice. This Committee meets bi-monthly.

Complaint Investigations

  • Investigates and conducts inquiries into allegations of unsatisfactory professional conduct/professional misconduct against solicitors, allegations of misconduct against law office employees and other alleged breaches of the provisions of the Legal Profession Act 2007 as directed by the Legal Services Commissioner.

Trust Account Investigations

  • carries out trust account investigations pursuant to the provisions of the Legal Profession Act 2007
  • assists in the administration of external intervention appointments
  • provides further education to solicitors, employees of law practices and statutory auditors

Fidelity Fund / External Intervention

  • investigates claims against the fidelity guarantee fund and preparation of recommendations to the Committee of Management
  • acts as a joint and several Receiver of regulated property of a law practice when appointments are made by Council pursuant to external intervention Sections of the Legal Profession Act 2007
  • controls and distributes trust moneys, client files and safe custody held by a legal practice over which an external intervention has been made

Dispute Management Centre

The Dispute Management Centre (DMC) administers a number of schemes that facilitate the resolution of disputes between various parties.

Some schemes are specific to particular industries/groups, and the role of the DMC is to maintain and administer lists of mediators/adjudicators/arbitrators relevant to each. The centre is also involved in expert appointments as part of the dispute resolution process.

The centre also carries out the administrative functions of the QLS as an Authorised Nominating Authority under the Building and Construction Industry Payments Act.

DMC staff also sit on a number of committees, including the Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee and the Building and Construction Industry Infrastructure Committee.

Legal Practitioners Admissions Board

The Society provides administrative support to the Legal Practitioners Admission Board, through the provision of personnel, accommodation, IT and secretarial support services.

The Legal Practitioners Admission Board is the body responsible for making recommendations to the Supreme Court in respect of applications for admission to the legal profession in Queensland. The Boards primary role is to consider the eligibility (academic qualifications and practical legal training) and suitability (good fame and character) of applications for admission at a local, domestic and international level. In conjunction with the Chief Justice of Queensland, the Board takes an active role in approving academic and practical legal training courses offered by universities and educational institutes in Queensland. The Boards duties also include a consultative aspect, in that it considers proposals suggested by other stakeholders such as the Judiciary, the Legal Admissions Consultative Committee, the Queensland Government and the legal profession.

As a statutory body established under the Legal Profession Act 2007, the Board has a responsibility to carry out various legislative requirements necessary to allow it to fulfil its functions and comply with its obligations to the profession and the public.

Director of Advocacy & Accountability is Malcolm Hinton.

Secretariat

The Secretary to Council provides legal and compliance advice to QLS, numerous regulatory functions and policy coordination, and maintains member records.

The Secretary has various responsibilities under the Society's Act and Rules, particularly in relation to practising certificates, QLS' regulatory obligations, maintaining the roll of members, Council elections and the annual general meeting.

Secretariat has been actively involved in negotiating professional indemnity insurance on behalf of the profession and currently provides direct support to more than half of the sub-committees of Council.

The Secretariat department reports to the QLS Chief Executive Officer.

The Secretary to Council is Bernie O’Donnell.

People and Organisational Performance

The purpose of the People and Organisational Performance division is to enable strategy through best practice organisational design, strategic development, excellence in customer service and the strategic management of human and environmental capital.

This division is responsible for the functions of:

  • Human resources
  • Training
  • Strategic planning support
  • Organisational design and development
  • Workplace health and safety
  • Facilities.

People and Organisational Performance’s focus is both internally and externally for members, implementing practices and processes that strengthen and enable QLS to be an outstanding membership organisation.

Finance

The objective of the Finance team is to provide financial services that assist the Society in making sound and informed business decisions via the provision of accurate and timely financial information.

The Finance team is responsible for all financial services including:

  • Accounting services (general ledger, accounts payable and receivable)
  • Payroll
  • Taxation
  • Annual audit process
  • Coordination of budgeting and forecasting
  • Accountability for the management and investment of funds in accordance with the Investment Policy Statement
  • Provision of accounting services to related entities

The Group Chief Financial Officer is Anthony Walduck.

Information Systems

The Information Systems division is an integral partner in the achievement of QLS’ overall strategic vision through providing appropriate information systems to support the Society’s business needs. The division is responsible for maintaining servers, desktops, laptops and all related software applications configured on the QLS network.

Information Systems is responsible for the following functions:

  • Internal information systems
  • Helpdesk support
  • QLS Website and development
  • Online services delivery

The Director of Information Systems is Scott Rowan.