Legal Practitioner v Council of the Law Society of the ACT

The appeal before the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory, constituted by Mossop and Collier JJ and Robinson AJ, concerned a legal practitioner's alleged breach of the *Legal Profession (Solicitors) Rules 2007*. The practitioner appealed a decision of a single judge of the Supreme Court, which had refused to admit further evidence and dismissed the practitioner's appeal against a determination by the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

The central legal issues before the Full Court were whether the primary judge erred in refusing to admit further evidence on appeal, and whether the distinction between a reckless versus a deliberate attempt to mislead the respondent (the Law Society) or the Tribunal would have altered the outcome of the proceedings. The Court also considered numerous other grounds of appeal advanced by the legal practitioner.

The Court reasoned that the primary judge had not wrongly refused to admit the further evidence, finding it was not of such a nature as to warrant its admission at that stage. Furthermore, the Court determined that even if the attempt to mislead had been reckless rather than deliberate, the outcome of the proceedings would not have been affected. Consequently, the appeal was dismissed, and the appellant was ordered to pay the respondent's costs.