Queensland Consolidated Acts

LEGAL PROFESSION ACT 2007 - SECT 420

420 Conduct capable of constituting unsatisfactory professional conduct or professional misconduct

(1) The following conduct is capable of constituting unsatisfactory professional conduct or professional misconduct—

(a) conduct consisting of a contravention of a relevant law, whether the conduct happened before or after the commencement of this section;

Note—

Under the Acts Interpretation Act 1954 , section 7 , and the Statutory Instruments Act 1992 , section 7 , a contravention in relation to this Act would include a contravention of a regulation or legal profession rules and a contravention in relation to a previous Act would include a contravention of a legal profession rule under the Legal Profession Act 2004 .

(b) charging of excessive legal costs in connection with the practice of law;

(c) conduct for which there is a conviction for—

(i) a serious offence; or

(ii) a tax offence; or

(iii) an offence involving dishonesty;

(d) conduct of an Australian legal practitioner as or in becoming an insolvent under administration;

(e) conduct of an Australian legal practitioner in becoming disqualified from managing or being involved in the management of any corporation under the Corporations Act ;

(f) conduct of an Australian legal practitioner in failing to comply with an order of a disciplinary body made under this Act or an order of a corresponding disciplinary body made under a corresponding law, including a failure to pay wholly or partly a fine imposed under this Act or a corresponding law;

(g) conduct of an Australian legal practitioner in failing to comply with a compensation order made under this Act or a corresponding law.

(2) Also, conduct that happened before the commencement of this subsection that, at the time it happened, consisted of a contravention of a relevant law or a corresponding law is capable of constituting unsatisfactory professional conduct or professional misconduct.

(3) This section does not limit section 418 or 419 .