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Qld pro bono lawyer to face disciplinary action
A Queensland woman will have to face legal disciplinary proceedings for an alleged breach of her practising certificate after she failed to convince a tribunal to toss the matter out.
Naomi Neilson
The woman, known only as XFZ, was accused of breaching a restricted volunteer practising certificate by allegedly holding herself out to be a solicitor in a matter that was outside of its scope.
Judicial member Peter Lyons KC said to the extent the discipline application is based on an accusation that XFZ engaged in legal practice, “it cannot be said that the allegation lacks substance”.
As part of her practising certificate, XFZ could only volunteer at a community legal service or on a pro bono project approved by the Australian Pro Bono Centre. To apply for an unrestricted practising certificate, she also had to complete a supervision period.
In late 2022, while representing a man who was not a client of the community legal service, XFZ allegedly appeared in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal and identified herself as a solicitor.
In November, XFZ then emailed the lawyers for the other side and allegedly told them to withdraw allegations made against her. The email finished with the words “solicitor for the applicant”.
In her application to have the disciplinary matter thrown out, XFZ claimed it was appropriate, lacked merit, was not in the public interest, and had been brought for an improper purpose.
Further, she claimed the community legal service was aware of her “NDIS activities” and this was sufficient to justify the conditions of her practising certificate while working on the matter.
Lyons said this premise was “not clearly established, at least so far as it extends to her representation of [the client], and may be contentious”. It was not sufficient to show that, in acting in this matter, “she did so as a volunteer at a community legal centre”.
“There has been no suggestion that the respondent was engaged in the [client’s] matter, as a pro bono project approved by the Australian Pro Bono Centre,” Lyons added.
“The circumstances in which she became involved, as she described them, do not indicate that the [client’s] matter was such a project.”
Naomi Neilson
Naomi Neilson is a senior journalist with a focus on court reporting for Lawyers Weekly.
You can email Naomi at:
