Annual Report 2008-09 - Legal Services Commissioner

Chapter ONE
About the Legal Services Commissioner
The Commissioner’s Report
Handling complaints
In our complaints area, we received 2,057 complaints about
lawyers. For the fourth consecutive year, the area of family
law gave rise to the highest number of complaints about
lawyers than any other single area of law.
Complaints about lawyers which concern debt collection
practices was an issue of focus for my office in 2008-09. In
light of the global financial crisis, we anticipated seeing
a rise in the number of complaints in this area due to
increased levels of debt recovery activity. This also emerged
as a key issue of concern during our discussions with several
consumer advocacy groups.
Accordingly, in May 2009 my office convened a round
table forum to explore the issue of poor debt collection
practices and the part that lawyers play in these practices.
The forum highlighted some of the critical issues in poor
debt collection practices and identified practical ideas for
addressing these issues. Overall, I considered the round
table to be a great success. I would like to acknowledge
the round table participants for their invaluable
contributions on this issue.
It is with much pleasure that
I present the 2008-09 Annual
Report of the Legal Services
Commissioner. This report
outlines some of the highlights
and challenges that we
encountered during 2008-09.
Overall, 2008-09 was an
exceptionally productive
year for my office.
In 2007-08, we reported on a decision by the Victorian
Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, which recognised an
additional step in the complaint handling process. The
decision required us to invite a preliminary submission from
the lawyer the subject of a complaint about what type of
complaint had been made and whether the complaint
should be summarily dismissed.
In December 2008, the Victorian Parliament amended
the Legal Profession Act 2008 to clarify that my office is not
required to invite submissions from lawyers at the outset of
a complaint. This amendment should have a positive effect
on the timeliness of complaint handling in the future.
Educating the legal profession
During the year, we increased the number of ethics
workshops for Victorian lawyers from 10 in 2007-08 to 15 in
2008-09. We also lectured 100 trainees enrolled in a practical
legal course.
Our public speaking program was more dynamic than
ever, with representatives from my office presenting on
nine occasions to a diverse array of legal conferences and
seminars. We are grateful for the opportunity to engage with
a broad range of lawyers through these presentations and
welcome the opportunity to present at future forums.
4 Legal Services COMMISSIONER 2009 Annual Report