First released as a consultation draft in early 2010 as part of the move towards a national legal profession, the final version of the Australian Solicitors' Conduct Rules has been endorsed by the Law Council of Australia (LCA).

The revised rules were adopted by the LCA when it met in Canberra on 18 June. At that meeting, the state and territory law society members of the LCA resolved to urge the adoption of the Rules in every state and territory of Australia.

"The process has actually been going on for a decade and has been driven by the move towards uniformity. It runs parallel to the national profession project," said LCA president Alex Ward.

"Over the last two years, but perhaps more intently in the last 12 to 18 months, there's been quite an extensive and very broad consultation between the Law Council constituent bodies on those rules. They've been really good discussions because once you get down to conduct rules, some are very easy but some are very subtle. [As a result] they've only just been finalised as of June this year."

While the new rules do not contain any significant changes, there is a particular focus on rules relating to solicitors acting for clients and former clients.

"I don't think there will be major changes, although we've had some fairly robust debate over a couple of the rules, but it's not like the profession will have to be completely re-educated," said Ward.

"Acting against former clients is a very significant issue. In the world of business Australia-wide, that is a much different issue than it would have been in the 1950s. The rules should be flexible so they deal with changes in practice whilst recognising the basic fundaments of law."

Following the finalisation of the Rules, the law societies will now work to have them adopted in each state and territory.

Their adoption by each state and territory will ensure all of Australia's solicitors are bound by a common set of professional obligations and ethical principles when dealing with their clients, the courts, fellow legal professionals and regulators.

"The expectation and the hope is that they're all accepted. But the issue arises that every jurisdiction has a different way of dealing with their conduct rules, but certainly the indications are very positive," said Ward. "The South Australian Law Society said they'll be moving quite quickly to introduce the new rules. Western Australia has just introduced new rules, in the middle of last year, so that might mean the process in that particular jurisdiction might be a bit more difficult than others."

According to Ward, the sooner each state adopts the rules, the better, as Australia moves closer towards nationalisation of the profession.

"The Rules are a good precursor to the national profession project, which we're hoping is going to start rolling out."