The Board is set up under the Legal Practitioners Act 1981 and comprises seven members; four lawyers and three lay persons. It is an independent body. It is separate from the Law Society of South Australia. The Board has a staff of lawyers and administrative support who are employees of the Board. Any contact with the Board should be through the Board's staff or its Director.

What can the Board make a decision about?

• It can investigate allegations of suspected unprofessional or unsatisfactory conduct
  
  "Unprofessional conduct" in relation to a legal practitioner means:
  

  a) an offence of a dishonest or infamous nature committed by the legal practitioner in respect of which punishment by imprisonment is prescribed or authorised by law; or
  b) any conduct in the course of, or in connection with, practice by the legal practitioner that involves substantial or recurrent failure to meet the standard of conduct observed by competent legal practitioners of good repute.

  
  "Unsatisfactory conduct", in relation to a legal practitioner, means conduct in the course of, or in connection with, practice by the legal practitioner that is less serious than unprofessional conduct but involves a failure to meet the standard of conduct observed by competent legal practitioners of good repute.

These definitions of misconduct are contained in Section 5 of the Legal Practitioners Act 1981.

• Examples of the type of conduct the Board can investigate include:
  
  
  • Overcharging
  • Costs and insufficient accounts
  • Delay
  • Lack of communication
  • Acting without instructions or failure to comply with instructions
  • Conflict of interest
    
    
• Other functions of the Board
  
  
  • The Board can also conciliate matters which are the subject of a complaint
  • It can deal with overcharging allegations (even if they do not amount to misconduct)
    
    
• What the Board cannot do
  
  
  • Order a lawyer to charge a client less by way of fees
  • Order a lawyer to give a client their file
  • Order a lawyer to pay a client compensation for negligence
  • Order a lawyer to act for a client
  • Find a lawyer to act for a person
  • Provide legal advice about a matter (or advice as to whether a person should take action to sue a lawyer for negligence)
    
    
• What powers does the Board have?
  
  
  • With the consent of a lawyer and the client the Board can arrange for one of its conciliators to conciliate disputes (refer to the information sheet in relation to conciliation at the Board).

   

  • In relation to complaints of overcharging, it can recommend a refund of money or a reduction in an account.

   

  • It can investigate whether there has been any misconduct on the part of the lawyer and as part of this process it has certain powers including a power to compel the lawyer to produce certain documents or provide a response to the Board if that should prove necessary (however it is not a Court and does not have power to take evidence or compel people to give evidence)

   

  • Under the Legal Practitioners Act 1981 it has powers to deal with matters of discipline if misconduct is found by the Board and if the matter is "relatively minor" misconduct. The Board in that case can issue a reprimand, impose conditions on a practitioner's practising certificate or make an order requiring the practitioner to make a specified payment or to do or refrain from doing a specific act in connection with legal practice.

   

  • In more serious cases of misconduct it can lay charges before the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal which then conducts an inquiry as to whether there has been misconduct on the part of the lawyer. The Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal has greater powers, including a power to fine the lawyer or suspend a practising certificate for up to three months.

   

  • In the most serious of cases the Board has power to bring disciplinary proceedings before the Supreme Court, upon the recommendation of the Tribunal. The Supreme Court has broader powers, including the power to strike a lawyer's name from the Roll of Practitioners and the power to suspend a practitioner for a longer period than three months.

   

 Back to Top