Schnur & Urbina

Schnur v Urbina involved a family law dispute before the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 1). The case centred on the conduct of Mr B, counsel for the mother, during an eight-day final hearing in a parenting matter. Mr B had not read a substantial number of the documents with which he was briefed, failed to appear on several occasions, and had accepted a brief in another court listed at the same time as the final hearing. These actions caused significant delays and prevented the hearing from proceeding.

The court was required to determine whether Mr B's conduct warranted a referral to the Legal Services Commissioner for investigation. Specifically, the court needed to consider whether Mr B had signed the High Court Register of Practitioners, as required by statute, and whether he had breached his professional obligations under the Legal Profession Uniform Conduct (Barristers) Rules 2015. The rules in question included obligations to read briefed documents, to honour commitments to clients, and to maintain professional standards.

The court found that Mr B's conduct did warrant a referral to the Legal Services Commissioner. The court noted that Mr B had not signed the High Court Register of Practitioners and had failed to read briefed documents. Furthermore, Mr B had accepted a brief in another court while still obligated to appear in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia. The court concluded that these actions were serious breaches of professional conduct. The court requested the National Judicial Registrar to refer the matter to the Office of the Legal Services Commissioner and ordered that relevant documents be provided to the Commissioner.

The court further ordered that a transcript of the proceedings be obtained and placed on the court file. It directed that the form of the order was subject to review to remedy minor typographical or grammatical errors or to record a variation to the order. This decision highlighted the importance of adherence to professional obligations and the consequences of failing to do so in family law proceedings.