Bechara v Legal Services Commissioner [2010] NSWCA 369

New South Wales Court of Appeal

CITATION: Bechara v Legal Services Commissioner [2010] NSWCA 369

HEARING DATE(S): 31 August 2010

JUDGMENT DATE: 21 December 2010

JUDGMENT OF: McColl JA at 1; Young JA at 2; McClellan CJ at CL at 8

DECISION: Appeal dismissed with costs.

CATCHWORDS: LEGAL PRACTITIONERS – professional misconduct – appeal from Administrative Decisions Tribunal – legal practitioner acted for three clients whose proceedings were heard together with evidence in one being evidence in the other – whether practitioner's failure to apportion hearing costs constituted professional misconduct – appeal dismissed

Legal Profession Act 1987 (NSW) District Court Rules 1973 (NSW) LEGISLATION CITED: Legal Profession Regulation 1994 (NSW) Legal Profession Act 2004 Supreme Court Act 1970

CATEGORY: Principal judgment

A Goninan & Co v Atlas Steels [2003] NSWSC 956 Allstate Life Insurance Co v Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (No 6) (1996) 64 FCR 79 Bechara v Kobeissi [2005] NSWSC 192 Boguslawski & Anor v Gdynia Amerkya Linie (No. 2) [1951] 2 KB 328 Carter v Newcastle Wallsend Coal Co (1909) 9 SR (NSW) 474 Centennial Coal Company Ltd v Xstrata Coal Pty Ltd (2009) 76 NSWLR 129, 146-7 Clyne v NSW Bar Association [1960] HCA 40; (1960) 104 CLR 186 Council of the NSW Bar Association v Meakes [2006] NSWCA 340 Credit Connect v Carney; Credit Connect v Smit [2010] NSWSC 910 Hoshott v Council of the Law Society of New South Wales (Supreme Court of NSW, Meagher, Sheller and Stein JJA, 17 December 1997, Unreported) Howes v Law Society of the Australian Capital Territory (Supreme Court of ACT, Gallop ACJ, Higgins and Crispin JJ, 23 July 1998, Unreported) In re Metropolitan Coal Consumers' Association (Grieb's Case) (1890) 45 Ch D 606 International Financial Society v Smith (1896) 22 VLR 114 Law Society of New South Wales v Foreman (1991) 24 NSWLR 238 Law Society of New South Wales v Moulton [1981] 2 NSWLR 736 Law Society of NSW v Harvey [1976] 2 NSWLR 154 Legal Services Commissioner v Bechara (No 2) [2009] NSWADT 145 Legal Services Commissioner v Bechara (No 3)) [2009] NSWADT 313 Legal Services Commissioner v Bechara [2008] NSWADT 215 CASES CITED: Legal Services Commissioner v Nikolaidis (No 3) [2005] NSWADT 200 Malouf v Jezairy [2003] NSWSC 762 Maria Bechara v Mohamed Kobeissi (26 March 2007, Unreported) Meade v Queensland Ambulance Service [1996] QSC 62 Murray v Legal Services Commissioner [1999] NSWCA 70; (1999) 46 NSWLR 224 New South Wales Bar Assn v Livesey [1982] 2 NSWLR 231 NSW Bar Association v Cummins [2001] NSWCA 284, O'Reilly v Law Society of New South Wales (1988) 24 NSWLR 204 Oppenshaw v Whitehead; Mucklow v Whitehead (1854) 9 Exch 304; (1854) 156 ER 163 Pester; Leslie v Hydro-Electric Corporation (1997) 7 Tas R 233 Prentice v Cummins [2002] FCA 1503; (2002) 124 FCR 67 Price v Clinton [1906] 2 Ch 487 R v Hore; Ex parte Brisbane City Council [1969] Qd R 75 Re Veron; Ex parte Law Society of New South Wales (1966) 84 WN (Pt 1) NSW 136 Evatt v Bar Association of New South Wales (1968) 117 CLR 177 Re Walker; Ex parte Kemp (1887) 3 WN (NSW) 123 Su v So, Verekers Lawyers v So [2010] NSWCA 119 Tucker v Graham (1869) 8 SCR (NSW) 341 Veghelyi v Council of the Law Society of New South Wales (New South Wales Court of Appeal, Kirby P, Mahoney and Priestley JJA, 6 October 1995) Wade v Licardy (1993) 33 NSWLR 1 Ziems v Prothonotary of the Supreme Court of New South Wales (1957) 97 CLR 279