Donaghy v The Council of the Law Society of New South Wales

The appeal concerned a decision of the Administrative Decisions Tribunal (ADT) which had affirmed a reprimand issued by the Council of the Law Society of New South Wales to the appellant, a legal practitioner. The Law Society Council had reprimanded the practitioner on the basis that there was a reasonable likelihood that the practitioner would be found by the ADT to have engaged in unsatisfactory professional conduct. The practitioner appealed this decision to the ADT.

The primary legal issues before the Court of Appeal were whether the ADT had misdirected itself in concluding that the practitioner's conduct amounted to unsatisfactory professional conduct, and whether it had failed to address the correct threshold, namely whether there was a reasonable likelihood that such conduct would be found. Additionally, the Court considered whether the ADT had denied the practitioner procedural fairness by taking into account conduct that was not part of the original complaint made to the Law Society.

The Court of Appeal found that the ADT had erred in its approach. It determined that the ADT had not properly applied the test of "reasonable likelihood" as required by the legislation, instead proceeding as if it were determining the matter definitively. Furthermore, the Court held that the ADT had indeed denied the practitioner procedural fairness by considering conduct beyond the scope of the original complaint without adequate notice or opportunity for the practitioner to respond. Consequently, the Court allowed the appeal, set aside the ADT's orders, and remitted the matter to the ADT for a rehearing.