The Full Court of the Supreme Court of South Australia in Legal Practitioners Conduct Board v Patterson1 struck off a practitioner who had maintained a secret client base while employed by a legal practice.
This decision highlights the fundamental duties:
- we should be absolutely transparent in our dealings with our employers. Secret client bases and payments under the table are dishonest and public interest would demand such behaviour is not to be tolerated.
- if we wish to do pro bono work outside our work environment then we discuss this with our employers. This is again to ensure transparency and to avoid conflicts either of duty or personal interest.
- we have a duty to understand the restrictions (if any) on our entitlement to practise and to comply with such restrictions.
- the failure to open client files, to record time properly, to bill in accordance with the disclosure made to the client and the cost agreements entered into could be either unsatisfactory professional conduct or professional misconduct.
- we owe certain fiduciary duties to our employer. Secret profits made from secret client bases could be recoverable due to our obligation to account.
1 [2011] SASCFC 102.