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The Attorney-General of Western Australia, John Quigley MLA, has announced that the western state will adopt the Legal Profession Uniform Law, moving the nation one step closer to a national legal market.
The Uniform Law has been operating in NSW and Victoria since 2015, “creating a simpler and more efficient system of regulating legal practice and cutting red tape” for lawyers and their clients, Mr Quigley said in a statement.
Ms Hennessy said a seamless legal market between the three states would deliver time and cost savings to consumers and the legal profession.
“In the 21st century, people work across borders and it makes sense for lawyers to operate under the same rule book, which is why we are urging our counterparts in Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, the ACT and the Northern Territory to adopt the Uniform Law,” she said.
The announcement was welcomed by the Law Society of WA, with president Greg McIntyre SC noting that the society had been in favour of the state’s adoption of the Uniform Law “for many years”.
“A single, uniform set of professional conduct rules providing inter-jurisdictional consistency can only benefit consumers of legal services, the legal profession and regulators, especially with national and international firms now being commonplace,” he posited.
The Attorney-General has announced that legislation will be introduced to Parliament later this year to apply the Uniform Law in Western Australia, with WA to formally join the scheme on 1 July 2020.
From that date, it continued, the Legal Services Council – which oversees the implementation and operation of the Uniform Law – will be expanded to seven and include at least one member from Western Australia.
“Our resource-based industries and the law firms that represent them will be among the big winners when the Uniform Law commences in Western Australia. We want to send a message across Australia and internationally that WA is a great place to do business and the introduction of the Uniform Law will help to do this,” Mr Quigley said.
“The Law Society has always maintained that Western Australia should have guaranteed representation on the national Legal Services Council and that WA should continue to maintain a local regulatory body made up of representatives of the legal profession and independent of government,” Mr McIntyre said.
“The Law Society understands that these requirements are pre-conditions of the Western Australian government joining the scheme and will be met under the Uniform Law.”
Jerome Doraisamy is the managing editor of Lawyers Weekly and HR Leader. He is also the author of The Wellness Doctrines book series, an admitted solicitor in New South Wales, and a board director of the Minds Count Foundation.
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Jerome Doraisamy
