39. Legal and non-legal services

    1. Where a solicitor or law practice: 

      39.1.1.  shares an office with or is otherwise affiliated with an entity or business engaged in another calling to provide services other than legal services to a client, and 

      39.1.2.  a client is receiving services concurrently from both the law practice and the other entity, 

      the solicitor, or law practice, as the case requires, must take all reasonable steps to ensure that the client is clearly informed about the nature and the terms of the services being provided to the client by the solicitor or law practice, including (if applicable) that the services provided by the other entity are not provided by solicitor or the law practice as legal services. 

Commentary

39.1 Clarity on services provided

Rule 39 is designed to protect consumers and to manage conflicting duties and interests. It demands that the solicitor clarify for the client which entities on the premises or otherwise affiliated with, are providing what services, including non-legal services.89 This is in addition to LPA s 152, which calls for the legal practice to advise the client:

  • the services to be provided;
  • whether the services will be provided by an Australian legal practitioner; and
  • if not, the status or qualifications of the persons who will provide the services.

The solicitor must also advise the client that the LPA applies to the provision of legal services but not to the provision of the non-legal services. 

In addition, the solicitor must ensure that the arrangement does not compromise other duties to the client, such as confidentiality. Information must be secure – there is no exception in Rule 9 that would permit another entity sharing premises to access confidential information even if it had undertaken not to disclose it.

89 It is therefore broader than the former Legal Profession (Solicitors) Rules 2007 (Qld) r 35.