Trad v Harbour Radio Pty Ltd

The applicant, a solicitor, sought leave from the Court of Appeal of New South Wales to withdraw from acting for the appellant in proceedings against the respondent, Harbour Radio Pty Ltd. The application was based on a perceived conflict of interest.

The central legal issue before the court was whether the solicitor had established sufficient grounds to be granted leave to cease acting for the appellant, particularly in light of the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 (NSW) r 7.29, which governs such applications.

Ward JA dismissed the application, finding that the perceived conflict did not meet the threshold required to justify the solicitor's withdrawal at that stage of the proceedings. The court directed the solicitor to continue preparing the necessary appeal books and granted liberty to the appellant to apply for leave to withdraw if new solicitors were instructed by a specified date. Further, liberty was granted for the appellant to apply for consent orders for court-annexed mediation. The costs of the application were ordered to be the respondent's costs in the cause.