Australian Capital Territory Repealed Regulations

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This legislation has been repealed.

LEGAL PROFESSION (SOLICITORS) RULES 2006 (REPEALED) - RULE 39

Attraction of Business

39. Attraction of Business

39.1 For the purpose of this Rule:

    (a) the expression “publication” means a book, pamphlet, brochure, newspaper, magazine, periodical, journal, gazette, directory, or other printed material;

    (b) the expression “transmission” means a radio or television transmission, a visual display communicated by electronic means or a cinematographic exhibition.

39.2     (a) A practitioner may advertise in connection with his or her practice provided that such advertising:

                (i) is not false in any material particular;

                (ii) is not misleading or deceptive or likely to mislead or deceive;

                (iii) is not vulgar, sensational or otherwise such as would bring or be likely to bring the practitioner or the legal profession into disrepute.

    (b) The onus would be on any practitioner who claimed that he was a specialist or an expert in a particular field of practice to prove, if required, that his claim was not false, misleading or deceptive.

    (c) The acceptance of a claim by a practitioner to be a specialist or an expert in a particular field of practice would depend on a number of factors. While an assessment of a practitioner’s claim would depend on the particular facts and circumstances, the following factors may be taken into account in judging the validity of a claim:

                (i) the academic qualifications of the practitioner;

                (ii) the number of years of experience the practitioner has had in the field of practice;

                (iii) the proportion of the practitioner’s total working time involved in the field of practice;

                (iv) the level of success achieved by the practitioner in the field of practice;

                (v) the importance or significance of the matters in respect of which the practitioner has practised in the field;

                (vi) an assessment by a number of the practitioner’s peers to establish whether or not the practitioner is regarded by other practitioners as a specialist or as having special expertise in the field of practice;

                (vii) any interstate accreditation as a specialist;

                (viii) such other matters as are relevant in all the circumstances.

    (d) The term “specialist” and the phrase “an expert in a particular field of practice” means “a practitioner having special expertise”. A practitioner will need to consider carefully any claim to be a specialist. Alternative indications such as “practising in the fields of...” or “undertaking legal work in...” may be more accurate and satisfactory. The connotation of the term “specialist” to denote the field in which the practitioner principally practises may be more satisfactorily met by the indication of a field or fields of practice.

39.3 A practitioner may in any lecture, talk, public appearance, transmission, or publication on any subject be identified therein by his or her name, academic qualifications and the fact that he or she is a practitioner provided that:

    (a) where the subject matter or part of the subject matter thereof concerns a matter in which the practitioner is or has been professionally engaged:

                (i) the practitioner must in all cases confine himself or herself to an objective account of the matter without giving undue publicity to his or her own part in the matter;

                (ii) the practitioner must not participate therein if it is contrary to the interests of the client or former client so to do;

    (b) the practitioner must not therein profess to be representing the Society or the legal profession or presenting the views of the Society or the legal profession unless he or she has been expressly authorised by the Council or the Executive Committee so to do.

39.4 A practitioner may communicate with a person who is not then his or her client with a view to obtaining instructions for professional business provided that:

    (a) the content and nature of any material, whether printed, spoken or otherwise, used by the practitioner in the course of the communication will be subject to the same restrictions as are contained in sub-Rule 39.2;

    (b) the form of the communication does not derogate from the dignity of the legal profession;

    (c) the physical, emotional and mental state of the person is such that the person is capable of exercising reasonable judgment in employing a practitioner;

    (d) the practitioner must not communicate with a person who has made known to the practitioner, directly or indirectly, that he or she does not desire to receive such communications from the practitioner or from practitioners generally; and

    (e) the communication does not involve undue influence, coercion, duress, harassment or nuisance.

39.5 Except as allowed by this Rule, a practitioner must not:

    (a) apply, directly or indirectly, to a person who is not then his or her client for instructions for professional business; or

    (b) do or permit in the carrying on of his or her practice any act or thing that may reasonably be regarded as calculated to attract business unfairly.

39.6     (a) The Council may from time to time provide for the guidance of practitioners examples of material which it considers to accord with or not to accord with the restrictions contained in the provisos to sub-Rule 39.2.

    (b) the Council may by notice in writing to a practitioner order:

                (i) the alteration, withdrawal or discontinuance of an advertisement;

                (ii) the alteration or discontinuance of the use of material referred to in sub-paragraph 39.4 (a);

                (iii) the removal or alteration of a sign or brochure,

by a practitioner where the Council is of the opinion that the advertisement, material, sign or brochure contravenes the provisions of this Rule.

    (c) The Council may by notice in writing to a practitioner order him or her to cease or limit:

                (i) communications with persons who are not his or her clients with a view to obtaining instructions for professional business;

                (ii) the lectures, talks, public appearances, transmissions or publications in which he or she participates,

if in the opinion of the Council the practitioner is thereby contravening the provisions of this Rule.

    (d) A practitioner must forthwith comply with any order given by the Council pursuant to paragraphs (b) and (c).
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