There were more than 650 complaints to the NSW Law Society Professional Standards Department in the most recent financial year according to the society’s 2010 annual report. It is the highest number of complaints in seven years, and more than 200 above the previous financial year.

A majority of the 680 complaints were against sole principals within the commercial law area. Only 3% of complaints were against law firms. The main reason for complaints related to conduct of the legal practitioners (45%) with cost payment issues and consumer disputes accounting for 22%.

A report on the number of practitioners found to be in breach of professional rules will be available from the Professional Standards Department later this month.

The Tasmanian Disciplinary Tribunal has recently released its annual report, which included 106 written complaints in the year to June 30. Five lawyers were required to face the tribunal with one lawyer reprimanded and fined for downloading more than 500 client files when leaving a job.

After being found guilty of this conduct, the lawyer was reprimanded and ordered to pay a fine of A$2500 and costs of the hearing in the order of A$1500.

It is understood the lawyer downloaded from the firm's server and a personal computer the firm's commercial precedent library, GST clauses and the precedent library of another lawyer and the client files to a USB drive without the firm's consent.

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