Council of the Law Society of New South Wales v Webb

The Council of the Law Society of New South Wales appealed to the Court of Appeal of New South Wales against a decision of the Administrative Decisions Tribunal. The dispute concerned the characterisation of a solicitor's conduct, Mr. Webb, who had negligently failed to seek confirmatory instructions from his clients in ten separate transactions where the same agent was defrauding those clients. The Tribunal had found Mr. Webb's conduct to constitute unsatisfactory professional conduct.

The central legal issue before the Court of Appeal was whether the Tribunal had erred in law by not characterising Mr. Webb's conduct as professional misconduct. Specifically, the Law Society argued that Mr. Webb's actions involved a "consistent failure to reach or maintain a reasonable standard of competence and diligence," which, under the relevant legislation, would amount to professional misconduct.

The Court of Appeal, comprising Meagher and Leeming JJA and Simpson J, reasoned that the Tribunal's finding of unsatisfactory professional conduct was open to it on the facts. The Court determined that the Tribunal had correctly applied the statutory provisions and that the conduct, while negligent and serious, did not necessarily meet the higher threshold of professional misconduct as defined by the legislation. The Court found no error in the Tribunal's assessment.

The appeal was dismissed, and Mr. Webb was ordered to pay the costs of the Law Society.