A Victorian family lawyer accepted a reprimand for using a former client’s financial statements in a “bitterly contested costs dispute”.
William Grice and the Victorian Legal Services Commissioner jointly submitted that he should be reprimanded, fined $2,000 and ordered to complete ethics and professional responsibility units for conduct that occurred while trying to recoup allegedly unpaid legal fees.
According to a decision published by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, Grice was embroiled in a “bitterly contested costs dispute” with the former client from August 2019.
Around this time, the client uploaded a financial statement to the Commonwealth Courts Portal to assist in family law proceedings.
Under the Federal Circuit Court Rules 2001, a party’s previous lawyers are not able to access their documents on this portal.
Staff members from Grice’s firm accessed the statements, and information from them was used by Grice in a settlement offer letter.
The letter stated that if the costs dispute proceeded to taxation, the client may be cross-examined and required to produce the statement.
Grice pleaded guilty to a charge of professional misconduct.
In an October 2024 letter to the commissioner, Grice said he did not intentionally access the financial statements or breach the rules.
Grice accepted it was inappropriate that he used the information and, given the same situation, would not do so again.
He submitted that he was admitted in 1974, there has been no other disciplinary action, and this should be considered a “one-off”.
Member Simon Cohen said that was a fitting characterisation and was unwilling to make an order for conditions on Grice’s practising certificate, or order for it to be cancelled or suspended.
“Such an order is unnecessary to protect the community or the profession,” Cohen said in his written reasons.
Having regard to the joint submission and evidence, Cohen said the reprimand was the appropriate sanction.
“This is a public statement by [the tribunal] that Grice’s misconduct in using the financial statement for his own benefit fell far short of the standards expected of a solicitor,” Cohen said.
The case: Victorian Legal Services Commissioner v Grice (Legal Practice) [2025] VCAT 1041.
