Griffin v Council of the Law Society of New South Wales

In *Griffin v Council of the Law Society of New South Wales*, the appellant, a legal practitioner, sought a stay of orders made by the Civil and Administrative Tribunal of New South Wales, which had found him guilty of professional misconduct. The disciplinary findings arose from a discourteous letter written to a judicial officer, and the Tribunal had ordered the appellant to undertake and pass a legal ethics class within six months. The appellant was appealing these findings on multiple grounds.

The primary legal issues before the Court of Appeal were whether the appeal would be rendered nugatory if a stay were not granted, whether the appellant had demonstrated arguable grounds for appeal, and whether there was any concern of prejudice to the public by reason of the appellant continuing to practise pending his undertaking of the ethics course. A secondary issue concerned an application to stay proceedings in the Court of Appeal pending the outcome of an application to the High Court for removal of the matter, based on contentions that relevant provisions of the *Legal Profession Act 2004* (NSW) breached the implied freedom of political communication. The court also considered whether there was an arguable case for removal to the High Court and whether substantial delay in making that application should affect the hearing of the appeal.

Emmett AJA reasoned that a stay was warranted to prevent the appeal from becoming nugatory, as the requirement to complete the ethics course within six months could expire before the appeal was heard. The court found that the appellant had demonstrated arguable grounds for appeal, and that there was no significant prejudice to the public in allowing him to continue practising while undertaking the course. Regarding the application for removal to the High Court, the court noted the substantial delay and found no compelling reason to stay the Court of Appeal proceedings.

The Court of Appeal ordered that the enforcement of the Tribunal's orders be stayed until six months after the determination of the appeal. Liberty was reserved to the parties to apply in the event the High Court removed the proceedings. The costs of the notice of motion were made the parties' respective costs in the appeal, and the appellant's motion was otherwise dismissed.