WA Lawyer Conduct Question

[Ben1991]

Hi Everyone.

I'm in need of some advice or opinions on an issue I have with a service a lawyer provided.

I was the accused by the Police on a traffic matter. The issue I had is of the lawyers conduct or the way he handled the situation.

He began negotiations with the Police and after they did not agree to drop or lower the charge, he advised the prosecution that it will be a plea of guilty, without first advising me of the outcome of the negotiations and asking me first which way I want to procceed, and no agreement between us existed beforehand that he would advise the prosecution it will be a plea of guilty without my permission should negotiations not give any good outcome for us.

So basically he advised the prosecutors of a guilty plea without asking me first or having any formal agreement in existence with me.

I had told my lawyer I was unhappy about this and he pretty much tried to talk about other things in the email without being relevant to what I was unhappy about.

I made a complaint to the Legal Practices Board about this, and they replied in a way that was not relevant to the issue I raised or very loosely relevant to it, but just talked about other events in the whole timeline, and found that there was no misconduct.

Can I please get some help from you guys whether you think the lawyer had done the wrong thing here, or is it OK for this to be done? I am not very well informed on what is OK and not so this is why I am asking to get more information.

Is there any legislation that anybody could link me to that might be relevant to this? I have read some legislation about professional conduct but did not find anything about this.

If anybody has advice on what my next steps should be I would appreciate it.

Thanks.

 

[Rod]

As you have already complained to the Legal Practice Board in WA I don't think there is anything else you can do. If still within the allowed time frame you can send a reply back to the Board saying they have not addressed the issue you raised.

 

[James McGeough]

In my experience the legal practice board (and the law complaints committee) in WA can be challenging to work with; it all depends on who you’re working with. There is a bit of a “gatekeeper” sensation which is a bit off putting. In my case I waited until I was emotionally strong enough and I then returned with the polite message that they didn’t address my issue. I got a more supportive reply the second time around. But it should not be like that. Many conduct issues are dismissed that in fact should be carefully examined.

 

[James McGeough]

As you have already complained to the Legal Practice Board in WA I don't think there is anything else you can do. If still within the allowed time frame you can send a reply back to the Board saying they have not addressed the issue you raised.

Hi Rod, thanks for your reply... another one:

I am a defendant in a civil claim where the plaintiff’s solicitor is misleading the court with materially false claims (made 12 months ago but only discovered to be false now); I am self represented and am wanting to know when and where and how to raise this? to the court or to the plaintiff’s solicitor? in writing or? I now believe that their case has no actual merit and that their tactic is to force a settlement. I welcome all suggestions or input...