The Professional Ethics Committee brings together representatives from the Law Council’s Constituent Bodies, the Large Law Firm Group Ltd and a member of the Law Council Executive. The Professional Ethics Committee:
• recently completed the development of the Australian Solicitors’ Conduct Rules;
• is progressing the development of an associated commentary, for uniform application to support interpretation of the Australian Solicitors’ Conduct Rules; and
• is responsible for considering topical legal profession ethical issues, as they arise.
The National Legal Profession Division works to improve the regulatory environment by promoting eff ective and coherent regulation of the Australian legal profession. A key area of the Division’s activities is to support the work of the Professional Ethics Committee.
The Australian Solicitors’ Conduct Rules were settled in mid-2011, when the Law Council of Australia Directors endorsed the last in a series of recommendations arising from the internal and external consultation process on the (then) draft Australian Solicitors Conduct Rules. The Australian Solicitor’s Conduct Rules are designed to establish principles-based on ethical framework that governs the conduct of legal practitioners and which refl ects the existing body of common law. As a principles-based framework for conduct, the Australian Solicitors’ Conduct Rules do not prescribe in detail how solicitors should act in terms of the day-to-day circumstances of their personal lives and practices. Instead the Australian Solicitors’ Conduct Rules encourages solicitors to apply the highest standards of ethical behaviour at all times.
The Australian Solicitors Conduct Rules, when adopted by all states and territories will ensure all of Australia’s solicitors are bound by a common set of professional obligations and ethical principles when dealing with their clients, the courts, their fellow legal practitioners, regulators and other persons.
The Australian Solicitors’ Conduct Rules were adopted in South Australia on 25 July 2011 and in Queensland on 1 June 2012. The Division continues to monitor the implementation of the Australian Solicitors’ Conduct Rules and to encourage other jurisdictions to adopt the Australian Solicitors’ Conduct Rules.
The Division is also engaged in consultation with other stakeholders including for example, the Australian Defence Force and the National Association of Community Legal Centres Inc. The Division is keenly interested in promoting discussion on the applicability of the Australian Solicitors’ Conduct Rules to the work of legal offi cers and lawyers across the broad diversity of legal practice in Australia.
The Division is currently fi nalising work on the draft commentary to the Australian Solicitors Conduct Rules 2011. The commentary is intended to provide legal practitioners with an informed understanding of the underlying rationale of the Australian Solicitors’ Conduct Rules and additional guidance on their practical application. A copy of the Australian Solicitors’ Conduct Rules is available to Constituent Bodies and interested persons at the Law Council website.
The Division is also continuing its work to support the introduction of the Legal Profession National Law, a reform project that is intended to implement nationally consistent state and territory laws to govern the way that lawyers work.
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NATIONAL LEGAL PROFESSION division
MAR–MAY 2012
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