By Shane Budden
There is no such thing as a ‘graduate solicitor/graduate lawyer’ and using either term will get you into more trouble than Mrs Robinson.
Many law firms appear to have decided - no doubt for marketing and branding purposes - that a yet-to-be admitted law graduate can be referred to as a ‘graduate solicitor’ or ‘graduate lawyer’. This is not only incorrect - it may well constitute a breach of s 25 of the Legal Profession Act 2007 (Qld) (‘LPA’) and invite disciplinary proceedings against the firm and the practitioner.
Section 25 relevantly provides:
25 Prohibition on representing or advertising entitlement to engage in legal practice when not entitled
(1) A person must not represent or advertise that the person is entitled to engage in legal practice unless the person is an Australian legal practitioner.
The LPA defines ‘solicitor’ in Schedule 2 as:
solicitor—
(a) for part 7.3—see section 620; and
(b) for part 7.5—see section 658; and
(c) otherwise means—
(i) a local legal practitioner who holds a current local practising certificate to practise as a solicitor; or
(ii) an interstate legal practitioner who holds a current interstate practising certificate that does not restrict the practitioner to engaging in legal practice only as or in the manner of a barrister.
There is no ambiguity in these provisions and their effect is clear—if you do not hold a practising certificate and are not admitted you cannot use the words ‘solicitor’ or ‘lawyer’ to describe yourself, as it clearly implies that you are able to engage in legal practice.
Appending the word ‘graduate’ does not sprinkle legal pixie dust on the title and somehow render it compliant with the LPA; unless the relevant individual holds a practising certificate, the word ‘solicitor or lawyer’ should not appear on their business cards, signature block or biography.
It should also be noted that such a practice would likely constitute misleading a client, and could well be used to invalidate a costs agreement. The term ‘graduate solicitor’ or ‘graduate lawyer’ implies to the client that the person is a solicitor, which in the absence of a practising certificate - they are not.
It may seem like a good idea to create the impression that your graduates are solicitors or admitted - and you may even feel that they can thus be charged out at a higher rate - but the reputational damage caused by actively deceiving clients would surely negate any benefit thus obtained.
Unadmitted law graduates are graduate law clerks, not solicitors and not lawyers; to pretend otherwise is to invite calamity both from a regulatory perspective and potentiality in an action for misleading or deceptive conduct.
A firm that adopts such position titles for their graduates are also likely to be in breach of Rule 36 of the Australian Solicitors Conduct Rules 2012. This rule relevantly provides:
36.1 A solicitor or principal of a law practice must ensure that any advertising, marketing, or promotion in connection with the solicitor or law practice is not:
36.1.1 false;
36.1.2 misleading or deceptive or likely to mislead or deceive;
36.1.3 offensive; or
36.1.4 prohibited by law
By Shane Budden, QLS Special Counsel, Ethics