The Law Society of New South Wales (NSW) has launched its new Solicitor Outreach Service (SOS) as part of its ongoing efforts to support the mental health and wellbeing of the state’s lawyers. Solicitors in the state will be provided with 3 sessions a year, with a qualified psychologist free of charge, and will also…
Law Society of New South Wales launches online program for future lawyers
The Law Society of New South Wales has launched an online mentoring program for over 650 high school students across the state in the wake of ongoing social distancing requirements. The Future Lawyers programme is running over 6 weeks with different topics and lectures being given to students on topics such as an Introduction to…
Law Society of New South Wales welcomes electronic witnessing of legal documents
Richard Harvey, President of the Law Society of New South Wales, has welcomed changes implemented by the NSW government and Attorney General, allowing for electronic witnessing of legal documents. The move has come about as a temporary reaction to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, and has been added to the Electronic Transactions Regulation 2017. Mr Harvey…
Law Society of New South Wales launches free legal assistance to those impacted by bushfires
The Law Society of New South Wales, in partnership with Legal Aid NSW, community legal centres, Justice Connect and the NSW Bar Association has launched the NSW Government’s Disaster Response Legal Service, which will provide free legal assistance to those affected by the tragic bushfires in NSW. Richard Harvey, the President of the Law Society said: “In…
An Australian Study on Lawyer Vulnerability and Legal Misconduct
Vulnerability to Legal Misconduct: Qualitative Study of Regulatory Decisions Involving Problem Lawyers and Their Clients An emerging body of scholarship discusses ‘vulnerability’ as an antecedent of legal misconduct. One conceptualization of vulnerability indicates that an individual has greater susceptibility to risk of harm, and safeguards may protect against that risk of harm. This empirical study…
New skills for new lawyers: responding to technology and practice developments
The legal profession is facing a convergence of forces, most notably significant advances in the capabilities of technology, economic pressures challenging existing business models and globalisation, that herald momentous change to the practice of law. In Australia the lead in seeking to understand these developments and formulate responses has been taken by the Law Society of New South…
Adopting Law Firm Management Systems to Survive and Thrive: A Study of the Australian Approach to Management-Based Regulation
In Australia, amendments to the Legal Profession Act require that incorporated legal practices (ILPs) implement ‘appropriate management systems’ to assure compliance with the Legal Profession Act 2004, and appoint a legal practitioner director to be responsible for the management of the ILP. The new law did not define ‘appropriate management systems’ (AMS) so the Office…
The case for proactive management-based regulation to improve professional self-regulation for US lawyers
This article argues that the American Bar Association (ABA) should recommend, and the state courts should adopt, proactive management-based regulation (PMBR) programs to supplement the existing complaint-based systems of professional discipline. The article discusses the New South Wales program, highlighting the requirement that incorporated legal practices designate Legal Practitioner Directors, and non-adversarial collaboration between regulators and…
The Role of Ethics Audits in Improving Management Systems and Practices: An Empirical Examination of Management-Based Regulation of Law Firms
Using management-based principles, this Article discusses steps to take to encourage ethics audits ‘to merge good ethics and good business’ in the United States of America. For decades, legal malpractice experts have urged lawyers to implement risk management measures, and legal malpractice insurers have provided audit services and self-audit materials. Under the Australian regulatory regime,…
Australia’s uniform framework for a common legal services market
marketThe Legal Profession Uniform Framework is designed to be applied by any Australian State or Territory to establish a common legal services market. New South Wales and Victoria adopted it from 1 July 2015, and other jurisdictions are encouraged to join the scheme and will be able to do so without the need for changes…