Professional Responsibility - Legal Practitioners' Liability Committee

Legal practices involves ethical decision making and complying with professional responsibilities to the courts, clients and the rule of law. Failing to get these things right can not only lead to misconduct complaints but can also result in professional indemnity claims.

The Law Institute of Victoria has a range of information and resources available for practitioners about professional conduct and ethics on its LIV Ethics webpage.

Practice Risk Guides
LPLC Articles
Checklists
Videos
LIJ Articles
Client Resources

Practice Risk Guides

Commercial litigation – stay alert

Building and Construction, Building and Construction, Commercial, Professional Responsibility 07 Sep 20

This LPLC Practice Risk Guide provides examples of how things can go wrong in commercial litigation and how practitioners can minimise the risk of a claim. Managing the client's expectation during litigation is the key to containing risks in this area.

Practice Risk Guides

Focusing on Family Law

Financial Agreements, Property settlements, Child support, Professional Responsibility 28 Aug 20

Family law clients are often preoccupied and in emotional distress, they require particular care. It is an area where simple risk management steps can make a difference. This LPLC Practice Risk Guide examines the most common family law claims we have seen over recent policy years and provides a practical checklist to help you minimise the risk of receiving a claim.

Practice Risk Guides

Claim Free Conveyancing

Conveyancing, Engagement/retainer management, Professional Responsibility 28 Feb 19

Claim free conveyancing is an LPLC Practice Risk Guide produced to help practitioners identify and avoid the most common mistakes resulting in claims in conveyancing transactions. The guide aims to raise awareness of how and why mistakes occur, and put practitoners in a better position to stay claim free.

Practice Risk Guides

Avoiding Superannuation Claims

Conveyancing, Financial Agreements, Will Making, Mortgages, Professional Responsibility 24 Apr 18

This LPLC Practice Risk Guide focuses on helping practitioners to avoid the types of claims relating to superannuation matters that arise in family law, wills and estates and property work. In all areas simple oversight is the most common cause of claims.

Practice Risk Guides

Know your limits

Conveyancing, Personal Injury, Engagement/retainer management, Professional Responsibility 11 May 17

With the proliferation of time limits in legislation today, missing limitation dates is a mistake that occurs in many areas of the law leading to claims. This LPLC Practice Risk Guide lists the limitation periods that have caught practitioners out in recent years. It also gives some claims examples of how the mistakes have occurred and the lessons we can learn from those mistakes.

Destroy titles or make them invalid?

Conveyancing, Building and Construction, Professional Responsibility 13 May 20

The announcement by Land Use Victoria that all land transactions will be conducted electronic by July 2019 is a timely reminder that practitioners need to implement a process to either destroy any paper titles or make them invalid in accordance with clause 6 of schedule 3 to the ARNECC Model Participation Rules.

Are they really the right client for you?

Engagement/retainer management, Professional Responsibility 08 May 20

There are several considerations that go into deciding what makes a ‘right client’. Thinking about this at the beginning and making sure it is communicated openly, can save you a headache later.

Solicitors’ certificates – risky business in COVID-19

Solicitors Certificates, Verification of Identity, Professional Responsibility 07 May 20

In the current financial environment requests for practitioners to advise on loans and guarantees, particularly from second and third tier lenders, appear to be increasing. Providing solicitors’ certificates in these matters is risky at the best of times, but where there is uncertainty about future financial and property market stability and clients under severe financial stress, extreme care needs to be taken.

Safe practice during the pandemic

Cyber security, Professional Responsibility 04 May 20

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused major disruptions to our usual approach to both work and life. The stress of juggling commitments and adapting to new working arrangements means added risk as we find ourselves more distracted than usual. Although these distractions may be unavoidable during a pandemic, there are a few critical issues to keep in mind that will help you to work safely.

No PEXA digital certificate policy? You’re at risk.

Cyber security, Professional Responsibility 08 Mar 19

Does your firm have effective policies for maintaining the security of digital certificates? Are digital certificates being shared within your firm? Below are some of the risks and consequences and what you should do about it.

Requests for information about validity of will

Will Making, Professional Responsibility 12 Dec 18

Have you been asked to provide a statement as to the circumstances surrounding the preparation and execution of a will and to also provide copies of the will file? Did the request refer to Larke v Nugus? This article covers some key issues you should consider.

Seven ways to avoid a solicitor’s certificate claim

Solicitors Certificates, Professional Responsibility 08 Jun 18

Providing a solicitor’s certificate for a borrower or guarantor is risky. It is essential to treat it as providing professional advice and not just witnessing documents.

Do I have a conflict?

Conveyancing, Professional Responsibility 15 Oct 17

LPLC regularly receives calls from practitioners seeking guidance about a potential conflict when acting for both the vendor and purchaser of real estate.

Experienced lawyers also need supervision

Supervision, Professional Responsibility 11 Aug 17

Principals need to be proactive in supervising all employees, including experienced lawyers and clerks, to ensure the firm’s policies and procedures are followed and matters are progressed in a timely manner.

Money, money, money and risk management

Professional Responsibility 07 May 17

There can be a number of reasons claims arise where trust funds are held by a law firm. In some claims trust funds were paid by the law firm to the wrong party, while in others trust funds were not invested in accordance with the client’s instructions or the option to invest was not raised with the client.

A sad tale about acting for vendor and purchaser

Conveyancing, Professional Responsibility 28 Oct 16

Sometimes claims arise where a practitioner acts for both the vendor and purchaser in a conveyancing transaction.

Know the boundary between expertise and dabbling

Engagement/retainer management, Professional Responsibility 02 Oct 16

You should always be aware of the risks when a matter moves into unfamiliar territory beyond your expertise. This often happens where the matter starts within a practitioner’s normal area of practice but subsequently takes a turn into another area. Sometimes the practitioner thinks ‘it can’t be that different’ from the area familiar to them.

Nomination woes – GST, foreign investment and stamp duty

GST, Professional Responsibility 04 Oct 15

Look before you leap is an old age adage that is well suited to the situation where a client informs their practitioner that they want to nominate. LPLC has seen a number of claims where a practitioner has failed to fully advise a client about the consequences of nominating.

New rule old forms – giving a solicitor’s certificate under the new practice rules

Mortgages, Solicitors Certificates, Professional Responsibility 03 Jul 15

With the introduction of the Legal Profession Uniform Legal Practice (Solicitors) Rules 2015 practitioners should no longer provide certificates of advice for borrowers and guarantors to lenders other than those referred to in rule 11.

Dealing with loss of capacity of a sole practitioner

Resources and information, Professional Responsibility 05 Jun 15

When a person loses capacity it is usually a lot simpler to deal with any financial and legal decisions where that person has appointed an attorney via an enduring power of attorney (financial). This is part of the advice often given by practitioners to clients. It is not clear how many practitioners have taken their own advice.

Client consent is not a cure for conflict ills

Engagement/retainer management, Professional Responsibility 07 Nov 14

Some practitioners mistakenly assume, when acting for multiple parties in a matter, any conflict of interest concerns will be overcome by the clients’ consent to act.

When it really is a promise

Engagement/retainer management, Professional Responsibility 04 Apr 14

The following article contains a case-study discussion of what constitutes an undertaking.

Tips for effective supervision

Supervision, Professional Responsibility 07 Jun 16

This checklist covers tips and resources practitioners can use to manage regular and effective supervision.

Small business – when acting for the purchaser

Sale and Purchase of Business, Professional Responsibility 23 Jul 14

This checklist covers the key issues you should consider when acting for the purchaser during the sale and purchase of a business.

Small business – when acting for the vendor

Sale and Purchase of Business, Professional Responsibility 23 Jul 14

This checklist covers the key issues you should consider when acting for the vendor during the sale and purchase of a business.

5 steps to a better practice

Professional Responsibility 22 Mar 21

This webinar addresses the five key areas of practice management necessary to build and maintain a quality legal practice. It will look at the important issues in each of the areas of governance, client engagement, work production, people management and risk management.

Solicitor's certificates in unusual times

Commercial, Professional Responsibility 01 Jul 20

LPLC's Chief Risk Manager, Heather Hibberd, explores the legislative requirements surrounding Solicitor’s Certificates, along with the risk management issues associated with using video conferencing technologies in the context of COVID-19 restrictions.

Stuck between a rock and a hard place

Resources and information, Professional Responsibility 02 Jul 19

Seminar from 2019's Risk Management Intensive. Presented by Donna Cooper, Ethics Consultant, Ethics4Lawyers.

Solicitors certificates – are you being heard

Solicitors Certificates, Professional Responsibility 01 Jul 19

Seminar from 2019's Risk Management Intensive. Presented by Heather Hibberd, Chief Risk Manager, LPLC.

Supervision

Supervision, Professional Responsibility 25 Sep 17

Supervision is not a ‘nice to do’ if you have time. There is a general obligation to supervise in rule 37 of the Legal Profession Uniform Law Australian Solicitors’ Conduct Rules 2015. In Rule 37.1 a solicitor with designated responsibility for a matter must exercise reasonable supervision over solicitors and all other employees engaged in the provision of legal services.

Conflicts

Conveyancing, Financial Agreements, Will Making, Personal Injury, Commercial, Verification of Identity, Engagement/retainer management, Professional Responsibility 25 Sep 17

Practitioners who act for multiple parties are often caught unaware by conflicts, which canbe difficult to anticipate and arise before the danger becomes apparent. This leaves the practitioners exposed to allegations of breach of duty and the conduct rules, and preferring the interests of one client over another. In acting for more than one party, you create a minefield for yourself.

Ensuring adequate security for loans

Mortgages, Professional Responsibility 02 Mar 16

Many claims by lender clients have involved allegations the practitioner failed to properly deal with the issue of security.

Step up supervision in times of crisis

Supervision, Professional Responsibility 12 Jun 20

With much of the profession working remotely due to COVID-19, the landscape around supervision of employees has changed, and with that change comes new challenges. This means that reasonable supervision may now require a different approach to communication, training and/or remote access to the firm's systems if you want to overcome them.

Personal cost orders against lawyers

Personal Properties Securities, Professional Responsibility 26 May 20

This LIJ article covers the basics of personal cost orders are and what practitioners should do if an application is made against them.

Checklists help avoid a claim

Engagement/retainer management, Professional Responsibility 20 Jun 19

Checklists are an essential risk management tool that should be used routinely by any legal practice. If you find it difficult to set aside time to develop these tools yourself, the free checklists on LPLC’s website can help. Here are some fundamental checklists that can help you avoid a claim.

Time to rethink conveyancing

Conveyancing, Professional Responsibility 16 May 19

This is the first in a series of articles produced by LPLC with a focus on conveyancing. In this article, LPLC CEO Justin Toohey, sets the scene by discussing the need to go back to basics and re-examine the way firms manage conveyancing transactions for clients.

When the stake is at stake

Conveyancing, Professional Responsibility 16 May 19

Good systems and checklists to ensure compliance with procedural aspects of conveyancing are important preventative aspects of risk management. Stake-holding is a good example of when difficult situations may arise.

What can go wrong?

Engagement/retainer management, Professional Responsibility 10 Oct 18

This article discusses how targeted risk management strategies not only help prevent claims, they also help firms deliver high quality legal services more efficiently and profitably.

When to say goodbye

Engagement/retainer management, Professional Responsibility 01 Aug 18

Set out your expectations of the client at the outset. Know when to say goodbye.

Take a step back

Engagement/retainer management, Professional Responsibility 01 Jun 18

Experienced practitioners are still at risk of claims. This article walks through the basics of good matter management with a relevant case study.

Risk and GST

GST, GST, Professional Responsibility 01 Jul 17

LPLC regularly receives notifications where failing to correctly deal with GST issues gives rise to a claim. The mistakes come about for a variety of reasons, often because the right information is not obtained from the parties about GST registration status or because of a lack of understanding of how the GST rules apply.

Stay on the estate

Estate Administration, Professional Responsibility 01 Jun 17

As disputes between family members arise frequently in estate matters, practitioners need to be alert to their duties to executors and beneficiaries as well as potential conflicts of interest.

Private lending pitfalls

Mortgages, Engagement/retainer management, Professional Responsibility 01 Sep 15

This article from 2015 covers common pitfalls of private lender clients and recommends steps practitioners can take to mitigate risk.

When a sole practitioner dies

Professional Responsibility 04 May 15

When a sole practitioner dies there are a number of things their legal personal representative must do for the deceased’s legal practice. Forward planning by the practitioner can make that job easier for those dealing with their estate.

When family ties unravel

Conveyancing, Professional Responsibility 01 Jul 14

Practitioners need to be wary when acting for family members in asset transfers.

The cost of neglect

Verification of Identity, Engagement/retainer management, Supervision, Professional Responsibility 02 May 14

Legal practices cannot manage risk effectively without proactive supervision of employed lawyers and clerks. Some practitioners find it difficult to supervise as actively as they would like, especially when busy with their own work and supervision time is neither billable nor recognised for internal reporting purposes. Consider the following case studies.

The seven-year ditch

Engagement/retainer management, Professional Responsibility 14 May 11

Closed files may be out of sight but they should not be out of mind.

Delivering up documents

Engagement/retainer management, Professional Responsibility 01 Jun 09

Practitioners need to be aware of a number of competing duties when asked to produce clients’ files. There are often many issues and competing interests for practitioners to consider when dealing with requests to hand over documents. Here are a few familiar scenarios, and what to do about them.

Client Resources

A Guide for Beneficiaries

Will Making, Powers of Attorney, Beneficiaries, Estate Administration, Client resources, Professional Responsibility 24 Jan 18

This booklet provides a guide, in question and answer format, for beneficiaries about what is means to be a beneficiary, what is required of them and what is involved in managing and finalising an estate in Victoria. For more information beneficiaries should contact their legal practitioner.

Client Resources

A Guide for Executors

Will Making, Powers of Attorney, Beneficiaries, Estate Administration, Client resources, Professional Responsibility 24 Jan 18

This booklet provides a guide, in question and answer format, for executors about their role, their obligations and what is involved in managing and finalising an estate in Victoria.For more information executors should contact their legal practitioner.

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