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LEGAL PROFESSION ACT 2006 - SECT 122 Banning of incorporated legal practices

LEGAL PROFESSION ACT 2006 - SECT 122

Banning of incorporated legal practices

    (1)     On the application of the law society council, the Supreme Court may make an order disqualifying a corporation from providing legal services in the ACT for the period the court considers appropriate if satisfied that—

        (a)     a ground for disqualifying the corporation under this section has been established; and

        (b)     the disqualification is justified.

    (2)     An order under this section in relation to a corporation may be made—

        (a)     subject to conditions about the conduct of the corporation; or

        (b)     subject to conditions about when or in what circumstances the order is to take effect; or

        (c)     together with orders to safeguard the interests of clients or employees of the corporation.

    (3)     Action may be taken against an incorporated legal practice on any of the following grounds:

        (a)     that a legal practitioner director or an Australian legal practitioner who is an officer or employee of the practice has been found guilty of professional misconduct under an ACT law or a law of another jurisdiction;

        (b)     that the law society council is satisfied, after conducting an audit of the practice, that the practice has failed to implement satisfactory management and supervision of its provision of legal services;

        (c)     that the practice (or a related body corporate) has contravened section 102 (Nonlegal services and businesses of incorporated legal practices);

        (d)     that the practice has contravened section 119 (Disqualified people—incorporated legal practices);

        (e)     that a person who is an officer of the practice, and who is the subject of an order under any of the following provisions, is acting in the management of the practice:

              (i)     section 123 (Disqualification from managing incorporated legal practice) or a provision of a corresponding law that corresponds to that section;

              (ii)     section 148 (Prohibition on multidisciplinary partnerships with certain partners who are not Australian legal practitioners) or a provision of a corresponding law that corresponds to that section.

    (4)     If a corporation is disqualified under this section, the law society council that applied for the order must tell the regulator of every other jurisdiction.

    (5)     If a corporation is disqualified from providing legal services in another jurisdiction under a corresponding law, the law society council may decide that the corporation is taken to be disqualified from providing legal services in the ACT for the same period.

    (6)     However, subsection (5) does not prevent the law society council from instead applying for an order under this section.

    (7)     A corporation commits an offence if it provides legal services in contravention of an order under this section.

Maximum penalty: 50 penalty units.

    (8)     A corporation that is disqualified under this section stops being an incorporated legal practice.

    (9)     Conduct of an Australian legal practitioner who provides legal services on behalf of a corporation in the capacity of an officer or employee of the corporation can be unsatisfactory professional conduct or professional misconduct if the practitioner ought reasonably to have known that the corporation is disqualified under this section.

    (10)     A regulation may make provision in relation to the publication and notification of orders made under this section, including notification of appropriate authorities of other jurisdictions.

    (11)     In this section:

"regulator", of another jurisdiction, means the entity that is the regulator of the jurisdiction under the corresponding law of the jurisdiction or, if there is no regulator under that law, the entity corresponding to the law society council under the corresponding law.