The group comes after the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) agreed in April to draft legislation providing uniform laws regulating the Australian legal profession within 12 months.

Michael Lavarch, professor of law at the Queensland University of Technology will chair the Consultative group, alongside members from each State and Territory across various divisions of the legal profession.

From law firms, Robert Milliner, chief executive partner at Mallesons, will be involved in the group, alongside Tony Abbott, chairman at Piper Alderman, and Andrew Grech, managing director of Slater & Gordon.

Justice Murray Tobias from the Supreme Court of NSW will also be on the group, with Dudley Stow, president of the Law Society of WA, Philip Selth, executive director of the NSW Bar Association, Andrew Phelan, chief executive and principal registrar of the High Court of Australia, Noela L'Estrange, CEO of the Queensland Law Society, Robert Cornall, former secretary of the Commonwealth Attorney-General's Department and a previous managing director of Victoria Legal Aid, and Joseph Catanzariti, president of the Law Society of NSW and partner at Clayton Utz.

The Legal Services Commissioner of Queensland, John Briton, will also participate, as well as Barbara Bradshaw, CEO of the Northern Territory Law Society, Professor Peta Spender, presidential member of the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal and professor at ANU, and Carolyn Bond, co-CEO of the Consumer Action Law Centre Victoria.

The group will advise and develop recommendations for the already appointed specialist taskforce, which is responsible for reporting to COAG by 30 April