Queensland Law Society Media Release

New Era in Queensland Legal Services

A new era begins on Thursday for all Queensland solicitors, their clients and all future users of legal services when the newly established Legal Services Commission takes over the responsibility from the Queensland Law Society for investigating complaints against solicitors and deciding whether or not action should be taken.

The Law Society is on the public record over past months supporting the establishment of the independent Commission and we have been working very closely with the Department of Justice and Attorney-General and the Legal Services Commissioner to ensure that the transfer of responsibility is as seamless and as effective as possible in the interests of all.

The Society will continue to have a role in ensuring that the legal profession maintains the highest ethical standards and that the small minority who have bought the profession into some disrepute are exposed and dealt with appropriately.

Under the terms of the Legal Profession Act 2004, the Legal Services Commissioner can refer complaints to the Society to investigate and make recommendations as to whether disciplinary action should be taken but it is the independent Commissioner who makes the final decision. As an added safeguard, the Society has decided that its Professional Standards Committee, under the chairmanship of retired District Court Chief Judge Pat Shanahan, should continue to oversee the performance of our investigators and make recommendations, where appropriate, to the Legal Services Commissioner about any possible disciplinary action.

Under the provisions of the new legislation, the Law Society will continue to have the responsibility of auditing solicitors' trust accounts and where illegal, suspect or unprofessional activity is detected, the Society will protect clients and their legitimate interests by taking required action which may include cancelling the solicitor's practising certificate and taking over his or her practice.

The Society continues to be responsible for the management of the Legal Practitioners Fidelity Guarantee Fund to reimburse clients on those rare occasions when a solicitor, or an employee of a legal practice, steals or fraudulently misappropriates a client's funds. The Fund can reimburse a client up to a maximum of $200,000.

Certainly, over the past year, the Society has continued to meet its statutory obligations under the current law which expires on 30 June. As a result of our investigations, more than thirty solicitors have appeared before the Solicitors Complaints Tribunal, with nine being struck off, seven being suspended for varying periods and fifteen paying substantial fines of up to $25,000. Five solicitors were ordered to pay more than $90,000 in compensation to complainants. About 80% of consumer complaints handled by our Client Relations Centre were resolved.

Given that there are some 6,500 solicitors in Queensland, the number of complaints is thankfully small as the overwhelming majority of the profession is honest, ethical and caring about their clients. Now the previous perception of "Caesar judging Caesar", which was as rife as it was dubious, is no longer sustainable under the new independent regime, solicitors and all legal services consumers can look forward to a new era of independent regulation and complaint handling which is good for all.