Apla Ltd & Ors v Legal Services Commissioner NSW

The applicants, APLA Ltd and others, sought judicial review of a decision made by the Legal Services Commissioner of New South Wales. The dispute concerned the Commissioner's power to issue a notice under section 127 of the *Legal Profession Act 1987* (NSW) requiring the applicants to produce documents and information relevant to an investigation into their conduct. The matter came before Gummow J in chambers.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether the Commissioner had the statutory authority to issue the section 127 notice in the circumstances presented. Specifically, the applicants contended that the Commissioner's investigative powers under the Act did not extend to requiring the production of documents and information from them in their capacity as a company and its directors, rather than as individual legal practitioners.

Gummow J considered the scope of the Commissioner's powers under the *Legal Profession Act 1987* (NSW), particularly section 127, which permits the Commissioner to require a legal practitioner or a law practice to produce documents and information relevant to an investigation. His Honour interpreted the Act to mean that the Commissioner's investigative powers were directed at the conduct of legal practitioners and law practices. The Court found that the applicants, in their corporate capacity and as directors, did not fall within the definition of "legal practitioner" or "law practice" as contemplated by the relevant provisions of the Act for the purpose of issuing a section 127 notice.

The application for judicial review was therefore granted, and the section 127 notice issued by the Legal Services Commissioner was quashed.