Avoid drama — hire a qualified legal practitioner

Christine Smyth

Published in

Law Talk

4 min readJun 27, 2017

Why would our community insist on professionals being properly qualified, registered and regulated if it meant nothing?

Because it does mean something.

It means protection for the consumer.

Protection in the form of objective, measurable skills. Protection in the form of accountability and supervision. Protection in the form of insurance and recourse through oversight bodies.

This is why we use registered builders to build our homes, registered doctors to treat our illnesses and registered electricians to fix electrical problems.

Unfortunately, in most industries there are fraudsters. People claiming to have the qualifications to do the work of those who are properly skilled and qualified.

There have been recent accounts of such fraudsters and unqualified people dealing out legal advice which, of course, has devastating consequences for consumers, leaving them without recourse.

Take for example, the recent case on Queensland’s Gold Coast, where a 24-year-old male was convicted of illegally engaging in legal practice on 12 occasions in 2013 and 2014.

The perpetrator fraudulently presented himself as a registered solicitor and gave advice to people charged with crimes.

Or another example of a case in Western Australia where an unqualified man advertised online that he could help someone to represent themselves in court, along with assistance in filling out court documents.

This man was fined, ordered to pay costs and granted a spent conviction.

There have been others who advised on matters such as divorce and family violence. They were also fined and ordered to pay costs. Some of these cases have ended in money not being refunded by the advisor, meaning that the client then must incur further costs by hiring a real lawyer.

There is growing concern in the legal profession that members of our community may be duped into taking cheap or free advice via the internet or from lay advocates holding themselves out as qualified legal practitioners.

The growing number of armchair experts giving out legal advice and services is not only morally repugnant, but also illegal.

Queensland solicitors are subject to strict rules and regulations that protect the community at large and more specifically their clients. I urge members of our community to think twice before seeking legal advice from someone who is not a registered legal practitioner.

In Queensland, a solicitor is required to hold a practising certificate to be legally allowed to give advice. Anyone who wants to make sure that his or her representative is certified can do so by contacting Queensland Law Society or visiting our website qls.com.au.

Legal professionals are there for legal matters so why would you not choose expertise every time?

Having a qualified, educated and informed lawyer on your side will only assist you in your matter, whereas, an unqualified party will often cause you more trouble including higher costs.

In addition to potentially increasing the costs you will incur by not hiring a qualified legal practitioner, the law is not simple.

Further to this, an unqualified advisor will not understand the ins and outs of evidence, filing court documents or even how to simply follow court procedures. This could result in increased delays, difficulties or even the loss of your case.

If you are going in front of a judge and the other party has legal representation, would you prefer an unqualified representative, representing yourself even though you are tied emotionally to the case, or a logical, third party who is qualified to be on your side?

Don’t risk going it alone when you can have a professional by your side, regardless of how minuscule your legal matter may seem.

Let’s review the risks of utilising an unqualified advisor:

right to confidentiality is not guaranteed
right to privilege cannot be assured
unqualified practitioners cannot obtain insurance, while qualified solicitors are required to; and
non-certified practitioners are not bound by any codes of conduct or ethics.

Don’t put yourselves in harm’s way — check that your solicitor is qualified and be secure in knowing you have adequate and real representation.

You can find a solicitor by utilising Queensland Law Society’s ‘Find a Solicitor’ service on the QLS website (qls.com.au) or by phoning 1300 367 757.

Avoid drama — hire a qualified legal practitioner

Written by Christine Smyth