InBrief

Professional Conduct

The Uniform Law legislation requires a barrister to notify the Bar Council of certain matters, including the following –

• becoming bankrupt, being served with notice of a creditor’s petition and/or presentation of a debtor’s petition [sections 86 and 88 of the Legal Profession Uniform Law (NSW)];
• other bankruptcy-related events [set out in the definition of ‘bankruptcy-related event’ in section 6 of the Legal Profession Uniform Law (NSW)];
• being charged with, or convicted of, a serious offence or a tax offence [see rule 15 of the Legal Profession Uniform General Rules 2015 and section 51 of the Legal Profession Uniform Law (NSW)]. Conviction includes a finding of guilt or the acceptance of a guilty plea [see section 6 of the Legal Profession Uniform Law (NSW)];
• being convicted of certain summary offences [see rule 15 of the Legal Profession Uniform General Rules 2015];
• change of practice address or other contact details [see clause 61 of the Legal Profession Uniform Law Application Regulation 2015]. A notification form is available here.

In each case notice is required to be given to the Bar Council in writing within seven days of the event.

In addition a barrister who opens a trust money account for the purpose of receiving fees in advance is required to notify the Bar Association of certain particulars of the account within 14 days of opening the account [see clause 15 of the Legal Profession Uniform Law Application Regulation 2015]. A notification form for the opening of a trust money account is available here.

To assist members, an outline of the notifications which barristers are required to make is available here. The outline has been prepared by Ed Muston SC as part of presentation of his CPD seminar on disclosures delivered at the Bar Association on 20 March 2018. It is recommended that barristers watch the online CPD for full details. The online presentation may be accessed by logging in to your CPD account.

Notification of change of practice address or other contact details can be forwarded to the Bar Association’s Certification and Legal Officer, Abha Malla, by email to certification@nswbar.asn.au.

For any enquiries relating to a clause 15 trust money account, please contact the Bar Association’s Lawyer, Angela Huang, on (02) 9232 4055 or by email at pcd@nswbar.asn.au.

If you have any other questions regarding notification obligations, please contact the Bar Association’s Professional Conduct Department on (02) 9232 4055.