Western Australian Numbered Acts Western Australian Numbered Acts In this Act, unless
the contrary intention appears —
"Australia" includes the external Territories
within the meaning of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 of the
Commonwealth;
“articled clerk” means a person who is
subject to articles of clerkship under Part 3;
"bank" means —
(a) an
ADI (authorised deposit-taking institution) as defined in section 5 of
the Banking Act 1959 of the Commonwealth; or
(b) a
bank constituted by a law of a State or the Commonwealth;
"Board" means the Legal Practice Board established
under section 6;
"certificated practitioner" means —
(a) a
legal practitioner who holds a current practice certificate; or
(b) an
interstate practitioner who practises in this State;
“complaint” means a complaint to the
Complaints Committee made under section 175;
"Complaints Committee" means the committee
established under section 162;
(a) a
company within the meaning of the Corporations Act;
(b) an
industrial organisation incorporated under a law of the Commonwealth or a
State; or
(c) any
other body corporate, or body corporate of a kind, prescribed by the
regulations;
“Corporations Act” means the
Corporations Act 2001 of the Commonwealth;
“costs agreement” means an agreement
made under section 221(1);
"director" means a director within the meaning of
the Corporations Act;
"Disciplinary Tribunal" means the body established
under section 168;
“disqualified person” means a person
who —
(a) has
been struck off the Roll of Practitioners or a roll kept outside this State
that corresponds to the Roll of Practitioners (unless the person has been
re-admitted); or
(b) is
suspended, disqualified or otherwise prohibited from engaging in legal
practice in this State or in any other place (whether in or outside
Australia);
“engage in legal practice” has the
meaning given by section 4;
"examiner" means a person appointed under
section 142;
"foreign law" means law of a place outside
Australia;
"foreign lawyer" means a natural person, other
than a legal practitioner, who is registered to practise law in a place
outside Australia by a foreign registration authority;
"foreign registration authority" means a person or
authority in a place outside Australia having the function conferred by law of
registering persons to practise law in that place;
"Full Court" has the same meaning as in the
Supreme Court Act 1935 ;
“Guarantee Fund” means the
Solicitor’s Guarantee Fund established under section 16 of the
Legal Contribution Trust Act 1967 ;
“home registration authority” of a
foreign lawyer means the foreign registration authority stated in the
foreign lawyer’s registration notice under section 103;
"incorporated legal practice" means a corporation
that provides legal services as provided by section 47;
“interstate practice certificate”
means a certificate issued by a regulatory authority of another State that
confers authority to engage in legal practice, whether —
(a)
generally or of a particular type; or
(b)
unconditionally or subject to conditions, restrictions or limitations;
“interstate practitioner” means a
person —
(a) who
has been admitted to legal practice in another State;
(b) who
is not a local practitioner;
(c) who
holds a current interstate practice certificate; and
(d)
whose principal place of practice is in that State;
“Law Complaints Officer” means the
person holding the office of that name under section 167;
"Law Society" means the Law Society of Western
Australia (Inc.);
"Legal Contribution Trust" means the body
established by section 5 of the Legal Contribution Trust Act 1967 ;
“Legal Costs Committee” means the
Legal Costs Committee established under section 207;
“legal costs determination” means a
determination made by the Legal Costs Committee under section 210;
"legal practitioner" means a person —
(a) who
is admitted as a legal practitioner, whose name is on the Roll of
Practitioners and who is not a disqualified person; or
(b) who
is an interstate practitioner who practises in this State;
“legal practitioner director” means a
director of an incorporated legal practice who is a legal practitioner
permitted under the laws of this State or any other State to practise on his
or her own account as a legal practitioner;
“legal practitioner partner” means a
partner of a multi-disciplinary partnership who is a legal practitioner
permitted under the laws of this State or any other State to practise on his
or her own account as a legal practitioner and who engages in legal practice
as part of the partnership business;
“local practitioner” means a
person —
(a) who
holds a current practice certificate; and
(b)
whose principal place of practice is in this State;
“mental disability” includes
intellectual disability, a psychiatric condition, acquired brain injury and
dementia;
“multi-disciplinary partnership” has
the meaning given by section 74;
“officer” of a corporation means a
director or other officer (within the meaning of the Corporations Act) of the
corporation;
"practice certificate" means a
practice certificate issued by the Board under Part 5;
"practise foreign law" means to do any work or
transact any business in this State concerning foreign law, being work or
business of a kind that, if it concerned the law of this State, would be
required to be done or transacted by a certificated practitioner;
"practising on his or her own account" in relation
to a legal practitioner means carrying on business consisting of the provision
of legal services as a legal practitioner, and not as an employee,
whether —
(a)
alone; or
(b)
together with one or more other persons;
“practitioner” has the same meaning as
“legal practitioner”;
“professional obligations” of a
legal practitioner include —
(a)
duties to the court;
(b)
obligations in connection with conflicts of interest;
(c)
duties to clients, including disclosure; and
(d)
ethical rules required to be observed by a legal practitioner;
“prohibited person” means a person
who —
(a) is a
disqualified person;
(b) is
or was an employee of a legal practitioner and who has been convicted of any
fraudulent conduct in respect of any money or property belonging to or held or
controlled by the legal practitioner by whom that person is or was employed or
a client of that legal practitioner; or
(c) is
the subject of an order in force under section 132;
“public officer” has the same meaning
as in The Criminal Code ;
"record" means any thing or process —
(a) upon
or by which information is recorded or stored; or
(b) by
means of which a meaning can be conveyed by any means in a visible or
recoverable form,
whether or not the
assistance of some electronic, electrical, mechanical, chemical or other
machine or process is required to convey the information or meaning;
“registered” , when used in connection
with a place outside Australia, means having all the necessary licences,
approvals, admissions, certifications or other forms of authorisation
(including practice certificates) required under the law of that place for
practising law in that place;
“registered foreign lawyer” means a
person who is registered as a foreign lawyer under Part 8
Division 2;
(a) of
this State, means the Supreme Court, the Board, the Disciplinary Tribunal or
the Complaints Committee;
(b) of
another State, means a person or body in that State having a function
conferred by legislation relating to regulation of legal practice that
corresponds to such a function exercised by a regulatory authority of this
State;
“related body corporate” , in relation
to a body corporate, has the same meaning as in the Corporations Act;
"Roll of Practitioners "or "Roll" means the
Roll of Practitioners kept under section 31;
"rules" means rules made by the Board under
section 252;
“State” means a State or Territory of
the Commonwealth;
"trust account" means a bank account maintained in
this State, for the purpose of setting apart, and dealing with, trust moneys
under Part 10;
"trust moneys" means —
(a)
moneys that are received by —
(i)
a legal practitioner;
(ii)
an interstate practitioner;
(iii)
an incorporated legal practice;
(iv)
a firm of legal practitioners;
(v)
a multi-disciplinary partnership; or
(vi)
an employee, officer or agent of a legal practitioner,
incorporated legal practice, firm of legal practitioners or multi-disciplinary
partnership,
in the course of legal
practice in this State for the use or benefit of a person or persons other
than the recipient but so as to be under the exclusive control of the
legal practitioner, interstate practitioner, practice, firm or partnership;
(b)
moneys that are received by —
(i)
a registered foreign lawyer; or
(ii)
an employee or agent of a registered foreign lawyer,
in the course of
practising foreign law for, or on behalf of, a person or persons other than
the recipient but so as to be under the exclusive control of the registered
foreign lawyer;
"unqualified practice" means practising as a legal
practitioner —
(a)
unlawfully contrary to section 123; or
(b) in a
manner that but for the exception created by subsection 123(3) would be
so unlawful;
“unsatisfactory conduct”
includes —
(a)
unprofessional conduct on the part of a legal practitioner, whether occurring
before or after admission as a legal practitioner;
(b)
illegal conduct on the part of a legal practitioner, whether occurring before
or after admission as a legal practitioner;
(c)
neglect, or undue delay, in the course of legal practice;
(d) a
contravention of this Act, the regulations or the rules; and
(e)
conduct occurring in connection with legal practice that falls short of the
standard of competence and diligence that a member of the public is entitled
to expect of a reasonably competent legal practitioner.