LAWYERS found guilty of professional misconduct since 2015 could have their decisions validated after the NSW Government moves retrospective legislation to fix an embarrassing bungle by the state's legal watchdogs.
The retrospective amendment is not expected to affect a Hunter solicitor who was the sixth to have allegations against him dismissed last week because the Office of the Legal Services Commissioner and the Law Society of NSW wrongly interpreted the law.
The senior Hunter solicitor was facing professional misconduct charges after denying an allegation he misappropriated trust funds, but admitting he caused a deficiency in his trust account. He declined to comment when contacted by the Newcastle Herald.
The Law Society was ordered to pay his legal costs.
The retrospective amendment will have an impact on an unknown number of cases determined by the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal since June, 2015 when the two watchdogs initiated a flawed complaint delegation process which the tribunal in June this year found had "irregularities which cannot be ignored".
The government is expected to introduce legislation to retrospectively validate decisions affected by the bungle before the case in June that revealed a flawed process without the required formal complaint to underpin it.
"When this issue was brought to my attention the NSW Government took urgent action to address it," said NSW Attorney-General Mark Speakman.
"I will be introducing legislation imminently to ensure the legal profession continues to receive effective regulatory oversight."
NSW has a co-regulatory legal profession scheme in which the Office of the Legal Services Commissioner and the councils of the Bar Association and Law Society each play a role in investigating disciplinary complaints and prosecuting misconduct.
A spokesperson for the Office of the Legal Services Commissioner said it was "working to achieve an outcome as soon as possible that will safeguard all previous and current investigations referred to the Law Society".
"We are working to resolve the issues of statutory interpretation and to safeguard the ongoing holding to account of misbehaving lawyers at the earliest possible time," the spokesperson said.
"Any further comment may jeopardise the effectiveness of those measures which we expect to be in place in the near future."
NSW Greens MP and justice spokesperson David Shoebridge said the issue needed more than a legislative response.
"This needs not just legislation but a close review into what went wrong in the first place," Mr Shoebridge said.
"The core issue is making sure that the public is protected. That is why we will closely consider any necessary legislation to ensure there are effective integrity measures that cover the legal profession."
