VPRS 18370 Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal Files

The records in this series comprise of files regarding the hearing of the Solicitors' Disciplinary Tribunal and the penalties imposed.In 1978 the Legal Profession Act 1958 (the Act) was amended to create the Solicitors' Disciplinary Tribunal which heard matters in relation to the conduct of Solicitors in Victoria. Under the Act s.28 (1) any persons feeling aggrieved by reason of the alleged misconduct of any solicitor could make complaint to the secretary of the Tribunal. Section 15 of the Act outlined the misconduct that Solicitors could be disciplined for. Misconduct could include failure by a solicitor to comply with any provisions of the Act, charging excessive costs, making statements they knew to be false, failure to perform work in connection with their practice, amongst others. Solicitors were also held to account by the Solicitors' (Professional Conduct and Practice) Rules 1984 and failures to comply with these Rules is also documented in these Orders.The Tribunal only existed for a short time (1980-1989) after which matters were placed on the Civil List of the Supreme Court. The Court continued to deal with these matters until 1996 when a new tribunal was formed to deal with these cases. Later following the passage of the Legal Profession Act 2004 the matters were heard by the Victorian Civil and Administration Tribunal.