Raghoobar v Legal Services Commissioner

SUPREME COURT OF QUEENSLAND

CITATION:

Raghoobar v Legal Services Commissioner [2023] QCA 191

PARTIES:

SURENDRA RAGHOOBAR
(appellant)
v
LEGAL SERVICES COMMISSIONER
(respondent)

FILE NO/S:

Appeal No 4953 of 2023
SC No 12444 of 2022

DIVISION:

Court of Appeal

PROCEEDING:

General Civil Appeal

ORIGINATING COURT:

Supreme Court at Brisbane – [2023] QSC 41 (Martin SJA)

DELIVERED ON:

22 September 2023

DELIVERED AT:

Brisbane

HEARING DATE:

15 September 2023

JUDGES:

Bowskill CJ and Dalton JA and Buss AJA

ORDER:

Appeal dismissed, with costs.

CATCHWORDS:

PROFESSIONS AND TRADES – LAWYERS – UNQUALIFIED PERSONS AND DISQUALIFIED PRACTITIONERS – ACTING AS SOLICITOR – where at first instance the appellant, after an application was brought by the respondent, was restrained by injunction from engaging in legal practice – where the appellant contended that he was not engaging in legal practice, but was merely assisting people, who were friends and acquaintances, in relation to legal matters, for example by assisting them to draft submissions and letters, make amendments to court documents and understand the court process – where, on appeal, the appellant contended that the trial judge erred in finding that he had engaged in legal practice, erred in giving undue weight to the evidence of the respondent, and erred in giving no weight, or little weight, to the evidence of the appellant – whether the appellant engaged in legal practice

Legal Profession Act 2007 (Qld), s 6(1), s 24, s 24(1), s 703

Charisteas v Charisteas (2021) 273 CLR 289; [2021] HCA 29, cited

COUNSEL:

The appellant appeared on his own behalf
C M Doyle for the respondent

SOLICITORS:

The appellant appeared on his own behalf
Legal Services Commission for the respondent

1. BOWSKILL CJ:  Being concerned that the appellant, who is not an “Australian legal practitioner”,[1] was engaging in legal practice contrary to the prohibition in s 24(1) of the Legal Profession Act 2007 (Qld), the respondent brought an application under s 703 of the Act seeking an injunction to restrain the appellant from engaging in such conduct. After hearing the application on 13 February 2023, Martin SJA made the following order on 28 March 2023, for the reasons published on the same date:[2]

   [1]See s 6(1) of the Legal Profession Act 2007 (Qld).

   [2]Legal Services Commissioner v Raghoobar [2023] QSC 41.

   “1.Pursuant to section 703(2) of the Legal Profession Act 2007 (Qld), the respondent is restrained from engaging in legal practice in the State of Queensland when not an Australian legal practitioner. In particular, the respondent is restrained from:

   (a)providing legal advice in relation to proceedings or potential proceedings, whether in person or in writing;

   (b)corresponding or communicating on behalf of parties to proceedings or potential parties to proceedings, or drafting correspondence or communications for parties or potential parties to proceedings to send themselves in relation to such proceedings;

   (c)drawing documents on behalf of, or as agent of, parties to proceedings or potential parties to proceedings;

   (d)drafting submissions, whether oral or written, for parties or potential parties to proceedings to present…