Professional Standards

The Section

Guidelines

Closing, Storage and Destruction of Files

Lawyers Acting for Children

Policy for Handling LSC Payments Inclusive of Unpaid Disbursements

Australian Solicitors' Conduct Rules (pdf format)

Ethics and Professional Responsibility
Publications available for purchase

FAQs

Resources

Legislation

General  

The Professional Standards web pages are currently undergoing review.  Please contact the Professional Standards Section on
8229 0229 if you need assistance with any matter.

The Section

The Professional Standards section of the Law Society has several responsibilities which include:

·         Setting professional and ethical standards;

Advising and assisting legal practitioners and members of the public with queries on a variety of professional and ethical issues;

Regulatory functions in relation to legal practitioners' trust accounts:

o        Monitoring and inspection;

Education

o        Supervision and management where appropriate;

·         Receiving and considering claims made against the Legal Practitioners Guarantee Fund where there has been a professional or fiduciary default by a legal practitioner.

·         Referral of disciplinary matters to the relevant authorities and, in certain circumstances, instituting proceedings in the Supreme Court to suspend or strike off legal practitioners.

The Professional Standards section comprises four legal practitioners (the Director, two senior solicitors and a solicitor/trust account regulatory officer), two accountants and two administrative assistants. 

The Law Society of South Australia is not required to be licensed under the Corporations Act 2001 in relation to the operation of the Legal Practitioners Guarantee Fund.

Contact: Telephone: (08) 8229 0229
Fax (08) 8410 5688

Australian Solicitors' Conduct Rules

The Australian Solicitors’ Conduct Rules are the culmination of work undertaken over a period of two years by the Law Council of Australia and its constituent bodies to develop a single, uniform set of Australian Solicitor’s Conduct Rules.

Nationally uniform professional conduct rules are an important step towards creating a national legal profession in Australia. Their adoption will ensure that all Australian solicitors are bound by a common set of professional obligations and ethical principles when dealing with their clients, the courts, their fellow legal practitioners and other persons.

A consultation draft of the Rules was released in early 2010. The many comments and suggestions for improvement received by the Law Council were carefully considered by the Law Council’s Professional Ethics Committee.

The Rules were subsequently revised and approved by the Law Council on 18 June 2011. They were subsequently adopted by the Council of the Law Society of South Australia on 25 July 2011, the Society’s Rules of Professional Conduct and Practice (first adopted in 2003) having been simultaneously revoked. The rules can be downloaded here in a pdf format.

Ethics and Professional Responsibility

Text books (available in the Law Society's Murray Information Resource Centre)

Lawyers Professional Responsibility in Australia , 4th edition, G E Dal Pont, Law Book Co / Thomson Reuters 2010

Ethics in Law: Lawyers Responsibility and Accountability in Australia , 3^rd ed, Ysaiah Ross, LexisNexis Butterworths, Sydney , 2001

Lawyers Responsibility and Accountability: Cases, Problems and Commentary, 2^nd ed, Ysaiah Ross & Peter MacFarlane, LexisNexis Butterworths, Sydney ,2002

Professional Standards articles from the Law Society Bulletin

Unpaid fees and third party obligations - January 2004

Potential pitfalls for practitioners seeking to recover fees - November 2003

Storing wills and client documents - October 2003

Acting for more than one party - Professional Conduct Rules, Rule 8 - August 2003

Professional Conduct Rules - Rule 10 - June 2003

Help with the new Professional Conduct Rules (Rule 9) - May 2003

Privacy in Practice - April 2003

Practitioners and Privacy - February 2003

Referral, Commissions and Sharing Profits - December 2002

Financial Transactions Act Audits - September 2002

Has Professional Courtesy Died? - May 2002

Let Us Know - April 2002

Retention of Documents and Files - March 2002

Financial Transaction Reporting - June 2001Succession Planning for Practitioners - May 2001

Telephone: 08 8229 0229
Fax: 08 8410 5688  

Publications available for purchase

Law Society Trust Account Receipt Book - 200 A5 receipts, hard cover $38.50 (incl GST)
Order by email or phone

Law Society "New" 2009 Trust Account Handbook - Loose leaf $49.50 (incl GST)
Order by e-mail
 

Frequently Asked Questions

Legal Services Commission Assignments

I have a client who is being funded by the Legal Services Commission. The Commission requires a contribution by him of $50.00 and he has brought that in today. I have already seen him and given him some advice and helped him to fill out the form for funding.

Can I put the money into the office account?

Combined Trust Account

My calculations suggest that I should have paid $12,500 into the Legal Practitioners Combined Trust Account for the last period. But I needed the money to pay out some claims, so I did not make the deposit.
Is that sufficient reason?
Does it matter that I forgot to notify the Law Society?

Trust account software packages

My practice is getting bigger and I want to buy some trust account software to make life easier.
Where can I find out what I can use?
Does the Law Society recommend particular packages?

Computer programs for trust accounts

I use MYOB (or QuikBooks) for my office accounts.
Is there any way that program can be used for trust accounts?  

Drawing of cheques for fees

I understand that I have to prepare and deliver my bill to the client before I can draw the money for my fees from the trust account. But I would like to be able to tidy everything up when I'm doing the bill.

Can I draw on a trust account for my fees and then wait to present it for a few days to make sure the client has the bill?
How long do I have to wait before I can draw on the trust account for fees?  

Disbursements

I am still somewhat confused about the GST and what I am supposed to do about disbursements and how this affects my trust account? 

Legislation

Legal Practitioners Act 1981
Financial Transactions Reports Act 1988
Unclaimed Moneys Act 1891

General

The Professional Standards Section has a significant number of resources and references.If you have questions relating to:

  ·         Conflict of interest

Confidentiality

The process of strike-off or suspension of legal practitioners

Legal practitioners' duties to clients

Legal practitioners' duties to the court

Other ethical or professional responsibility issues

Trust accounts

·         Legal Practitioners Guarantee Fund

Telephone: 08 8229 0229
Fax: 08 8410 5688