Levitt v Council of the Law Society of New South Wales [2017] NSWSC 834

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Levitt v Council of the Law Society of New South Wales [2017] NSWSC 834 Hearing dates: 29, 30 and 31 May 2017 Date of orders: 29 June 2017 Decision date: 29 June 2017 Jurisdiction: Common Law Before: Wilson J Decision: (1) The decisions by the Council of the Law Society of New South Wales to commence proceedings in the Tribunal against the plaintiff pursuant to s 537(2) of the Legal Profession Act 2004 (NSW), as recorded in letters of 2 and 3 June 2016 are quashed, and set aside. (2) The Council of the Law Society of New South Wales is restrained from taking further steps in the proceedings commenced in the Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NSW) on the basis of the resolutions recorded in the letters of 2 and 3 June 2016. (3) The defendant is to pay the plaintiff's costs of these proceedings on an ordinary basis. Catchwords: ADMINISTRATIVE LAW – judicial review of decisions of the Council of the Law Society of New South Wales determining complaints against a solicitor – construction of s 537(2) of the Legal Profession Act 2004 – question of consideration of summary disposal of complaints – requirement to consider s 540 as condition precedent to operation of s 537(2) – requirement for Council's reasons to expose Legislation Cited: Legal Profession Act 1987 (NSW) Legal Profession Act 2004 (NSW) Legal Profession Uniform Law (NSW) Cases Cited: Menon v Council of the Law Society of New South Wales [2016] NSWSC 1322 Murray v Legal Services Commissioner (1999) 46 NSWLR 224 Wingfoot Australia Partners Pty Ltd v Kocak (2013) 252 CLR 480 Category: Principal judgment Parties: Stewart Alan Levitt (Plaintiff) Council of the Law Society of New South Wales (Defendant) Representation: Counsel: Mr Kidd SC with Mr Ng (Plaintiff) Mr G Johnson (Defendant)