A Queensland solicitor punished for representing a man just moments before she appeared as the defendant in her own criminal proceedings said the misconduct should have been seen as commendable.
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Kylie Anne Ward, principal solicitor of KA Criminal Law, told the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) she should not be disciplined for representing a man in the Southport Magistrates Court just minutes before she defended herself on a drug driving charge.
The former prosecutor said she was waiting in the courtroom on 10 October 2022 when she saw the self-represented man was having trouble and was at risk of actual imprisonment. She said the decision to assist him was “spontaneous” and had been pro bono.
Minutes later, Ward appeared before the same magistrate to plead guilty to a charge of driving with cannabis in her system. Ward was fined $450 and was disqualified from driving for three months.
In April that year, Ward pleaded guilty and was convicted of a similar charge. She was fined $350 and disqualified from driving for a month.
The Legal Services Commissioner submitted that the sequence of events was likely to “materially diminish or prejudice the administration of justice and impact the public’s confidence in the legal profession”.
In reply, Ward said that assisting and appearing on behalf of a defendant “would ordinarily be seen as commendable”, particularly because it was aligned with the “aspirational values of the legal profession of service to the public and the administration of justice”.
Ward added the magistrate was experienced, her matter was routine, it was dealt with in an “ordinary manner”, and “right thinking” members of the public would see the conduct as a “demonstration that the courts administer justice even handedly for all, without fear or favour”.
“Further, right thinking members of the public would take away an enhanced view of the profession by observing that the respondent, with no obligation to act while she waited for her own matter, spontaneously took it on herself to assist the unrepresented defendant and the court in the interests of justice where the defendant’s liberty was at stake and did so for no fee,” QCAT noted of Ward’s submissions.
The tribunal acknowledged that while the act of appearing pro bono would be commendable, Ward should have considered whether doing so was consistent with the “paramount duty to the court”.
Justice Frances Williams, along with panel members Richard Barnes and Patrice McKay, said the adage “justice must not only be done but must be seen to be done” illustrated the importance of the impression Ward may have left others with following these events.
“A solicitor acting for a party in a criminal proceeding and then being sentenced in respect of a criminal charge, even if minor, by the same magistrate in short proximity to the first matter being dealt with may tend to diminish the public confidence in the administration of justice,” the tribunal set out when making its decision.
Given the conduct was “at the lower end”, Justice Williams dismissed the Legal Services Commissioner’s request for a professional misconduct finding in favour of unsatisfactory professional conduct.
Ward was also found to have failed to notify the Queensland Law Society of the two drug driving offences within the specified time.
On penalty, Ward objected to the commissioner’s application for a public reprimand and an order that she undertake an ethics course. On the latter, Ward said it would not be necessary as it “has no role to play in the ongoing protection of the public”.
Given Ward’s conduct, Justice Williams said it would be appropriate for her to attend a course that focuses on reporting obligations and conduct that may be likely to bring the profession into disrepute.
Ward was also ordered to pay legal costs.
The case: Legal Services Commissioner v Ward [2025] QCAT 293.
Naomi Neilson is a senior journalist with a focus on court reporting for Lawyers Weekly.
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