Legal profession reform in Queensland

Legal profession reform in Queensland

At last, reform has begun in the legal profession in Queensland. The Legal Profession Act 2004 (Qld) ('the Act') came into force on I July 2004, the second of three promised steps in reorganising and modernising the regulation of the profession. It has been a long and tortuous path. A Discussion Paper was released in December 1998, a Green Paper in June 1999, further State
Government proposals in December 2000: and a National Competition Policy Review in November 2001. These were followed by the first stage in the reform process: the passing of the Legal Profession Act 2003 (Qld). The Act
of 2003 provided for new arrangements for the admission of lawyers, the conduct of legal practice, the rights and duties of interstate lawyers, the roles of the Bar Association and Law Society, professional conduct rules,
complaints and discipline, interest on lawyers' trust accounts (JOLT A), and incorporated legal practices (ILPs). However, the release of national Model Laws in April 2004 meant the second stage of reforms was ready in May 2004 - before the Act of 2003 commenced. The Government, rightly aiming to begin this era for the legal profession with one statute, produced a bill that restated, and finessed, the provisions of the Act of 2003, and added arrangements for multidisciplinary partnerships, the fidelity fund, the practice of foreign law, and the status and corporate powers of the Queensland Law Society. This became the Legal Profession Act 2004 (Qld).

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