New South Wales Consolidated Acts

LEGAL PROFESSION ACT 2004 - SECT 140

140 Incorporated legal practice must have legal practitioner director

(1) An incorporated legal practice is required to have at least one legal practitioner director.

(2) Each legal practitioner director of an incorporated legal practice is, for the purposes of this Act only, responsible for the management of the legal services provided in this jurisdiction by the incorporated legal practice.

(3) Each legal practitioner director of an incorporated legal practice must ensure that appropriate management systems are implemented and maintained to enable the provision of legal services by the incorporated legal practice:

(a) in accordance with the professional obligations of Australian legal practitioners and other obligations imposed by or under this Act, the regulations or the legal profession rules, and

(b) so that those obligations of Australian legal practitioners who are officers or employees of the practice are not affected by other officers or employees of the practice.

(4) If it ought reasonably to be apparent to a legal practitioner director of an incorporated legal practice that the provision of legal services by the practice will result in breaches of the professional obligations of Australian legal practitioners or other obligations imposed by or under this Act, the regulations or the legal profession rules, the director must take all reasonable action available to the director to ensure that:

(a) the breaches do not occur, and

(b) appropriate remedial action is taken in respect of breaches that do occur.

(5) A contravention of subsection (3) or (4) or both by a legal practitioner director is capable of being professional misconduct.

(6) Nothing in this Division derogates from the obligations or liabilities of a director of an incorporated legal practice under any other law.

(7) The reference in subsection (1) to a legal practitioner director does not include a reference to a person who is not validly appointed as a director, but this subsection does not affect the meaning of the expression “legal practitioner director” in other provisions of this Act.

Note: The requirements of this section may be subject to audit under section 670.