Serious warning issued to lawyers engaging in claim farming

The exploitative practice of claim farming sees third-party businesses target victim-survivors of institutional childhood sexual abuse and members of the stolen generations in an attempt to coerce them into making a claim. Those claims are then on-sold to lawyers.

Board CEO and commissioner Fiona McLeay said for the Victorian community to maintain confidence in the profession, it was imperative lawyers “maintain the highest professional and ethical standards when engaging with all their clients”, including for redress.

“If Victorians are aware of lawyer involvement in claim farming, we urge them to report it to our office,” McLeay said.

The guidance makes it clear how lawyers are expected to engage with these vulnerable groups, unpacks what good and bad practices look like, and sets out a lawyer’s obligations to act in the best interests of their client and to not bring the profession into disrepute.

The VLSB+C identified claim farming in its annual risk outlook as one of the legal risks that are causing consumer harm, or have the potential to cause harm, and have serious regulatory implications.

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McLeay said the guidance follows reports on lawyers’ involvement in the claim farming practices.

“I am concerned about conduct that may mislead victim-survivors into thinking they need a lawyer to apply for redress or where it is unclear to the victim-survivor that the person referring them to a lawyer has been paid for that referral,” McLeay said.

“My office also remains concerned about overcharging, and will take complaints about this conduct very seriously.”