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An in-house solicitor was disciplined for sending a series of emails that breached a condition of his practising certificate.
Fergus Fraser Reid was publicly reprimanded and ordered to pay a pecuniary penalty of $2,500 for sending several emails that suggested he was the group solicitor of a dummy law firm.
Between February and November 2021, Reid’s practising certificate was subject to a condition that he must not engage in legal practice outside of his in-house role, as a volunteer at a community legal centre, or projects approved by the Australian Pro Bono Centre.
In breach of this condition, Reid sent six emails that implied he had instructions to act for a woman on family law matters. A signature block and his email domain included the name of the dummy firm.
At no time was this dummy firm an incorporated legal practice.
In submissions to the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal, Reid admitted the signature block could reasonably have been understood as misrepresenting he was a group solicitor, but he said he did not intend to mislead or deceive the recipient.
Reid explained that the woman he claimed to represent was the partner of a relative and that he never charged her a fee for the correspondence.
While Reid accepted he made “errors of judgment” and acknowledged the seriousness of acting outside the conditions of his practising certificate, he submitted the conduct should be characterised as unsatisfactory professional conduct only.
However, Justice Williams said the false and misleading aspect of the charges gave rise “to concerns about the trust and confidence in the legal profession and what the public would expect”.
Even accepting Reid had not turned his mind to the conditions of his practising certificate, the underlying conduct was “serious” and had struck “at the heart” of Reid’s entitlement to practice as a solicitor.
“The conduct goes to a legal practitioner’s ability to hold themselves out, and to practice, as a lawyer and has the potential to damage the public’s trust in the legal profession,” Justice Williams said.
The tribunal made a professional misconduct finding.
In addition to the reprimand and pecuniary penalty, Reid was ordered to successfully complete an ethics course and pay costs.
The case: Legal Services Commissioner v Reid [2025] QCAT 225
Naomi Neilson is a senior journalist with a focus on court reporting for Lawyers Weekly.
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