Legal practitioner v Law Society of the Act

This matter concerned an appeal to the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory from a decision of the primary judge regarding a special case referred by the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal. The appeal was brought by a legal practitioner against the Law Society of the ACT. The core of the dispute revolved around the Law Society's obligations concerning complaints made against the legal practitioner.

The central legal issues before the Court were whether the primary judge had erred in their answers to the special case, specifically concerning the Law Society's duty to dismiss subsequent complaints about conduct that had previously been the subject of a summary dismissal. The Court was required to consider the scope and effect of the summary dismissal power under section 399 of the *Legal Profession Act 2006* (ACT) and how it interacted with the broader legislative scheme for handling complaints under Chapter 4 of that Act.

The Court reasoned that section 399 of the *Legal Profession Act 2006* (ACT) confers a discretionary power upon the Law Society to dismiss complaints. It held that a mandatory dismissal of subsequent complaints concerning the same conduct, even after a prior summary dismissal, would be inconsistent with the overall purpose of the legislative scheme, which is designed to ensure proper professional conduct. The Court found no error in the primary judge's determination that the Law Society was not obliged to summarily dismiss any subsequent complaint about the same conduct.

Consequently, the appeal was dismissed with costs.