The Law Council of Australia and the president of the NSW Law Society have called for further discussion on the National Legal Profession Reform Taskforce paper outlining key recommendations to the Council of Australian Governments (COAG).

“We are confident that the Taskforce package can, with legal profession input, be improved,” said Law Council of Australia president, Alexander Ward, said. “The Law Council Directors agreed with many of the taskforce revised proposals as they covered matters raised by the Law Council in previous consultation rounds, but had concerns about others and wanted to see the details of the legislative package to enable them to give further consideration to some of the proposals,” Ward said.

The comments come only a week after chair of the Large Law Firm Group, Robert Milliner, told ALB the group were disappointed at the end of last year when it was decided the draft would be given to COAG without further consultation. “While some of the proposals in the draft have made good progress we think there is still further work to be done,” he said.

Since the release of the legislative package late last year, the council and its constituent bodies have been analysing the details. Comments from constituent bodies in relation to the details of the legislative package are now being collated by the council.

NSW Law Society president, Stuart Westgarth, speaking at the annual Society opening of law term dinner, said that the proposed national system for regulation of the legal profession was not necessarily desirable if it were to trade away a “tolerable state-based system”. He added: “The Law Society recognises that a system of uniformity across Australia may bring about substantial savings for solicitors and for law firms by reason of having to comply with one set of requirements across the nation. There is a direct benefit to those members who practice only within a state boundary, if there are savings in the overall cost of regulation and the associated compliance cost.”

It is unknown at this stage what direction COAG will take in relation to the national legal profession reform project when it meets on 14 February 2011.

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