Whose details can appear on my law practice’s letterhead and business cards?

There is no longer any restriction on whose details can appear on a law practice letterhead, or who in a practice may have a business card, but where a person is named, the person’s status within the practice, and legal qualification or lack of it, must be made clear. 

Section 34 of the Solicitors Rule requires that the qualifications and status of the persons engaged in a law practice are represented accurately to any person who has dealings with the practice. Also, s.25 of the Legal Profession Act 2007 prohibits a person from representing or advertising, that they are entitled to engage in legal practice unless they have a practising certificate, and this includes doing anything that states or implies this status. So it is particularly important that the status of persons who are not legally qualified is made clear, to avoid any presumption or misunderstanding that they are legally qualified just by virtue of their association with the law practice.

The 2003 decision of the Solicitors Complaints Tribunal In the matter of Dean Phillip Bax serves as a warning in this respect. The Tribunal found that a managing law clerk had falsely held himself out to be a solicitor, and ordered that he not be employed by a law practice for 12 months.

The prohibition on false, misleading or deceptive advertising in s.36 of the Solicitors Rule will also apply to letterheads and business cards to the extent that these may be ‘advertising’.

Appropriate descriptions for non-legally-qualified persons might include:

• ‘clerk', 'legal clerk', 'conveyancing clerk', 'litigation clerk', etc
• ‘paralegal’ (although this term has been the subject of criticism)
• ‘law graduate’ if the person has a law degree
• for those undertaking the practical legal training course or a supervised traineeship, the above descriptions can be used
• ‘supervised trainee’ for those undertaking a supervised traineeship.

For employed solicitors, if you are not employed by a law practice, s.5.3 of the Solicitors Rule says you cannot permit your employer to put your name on its letterhead if, on the letterhead, there is some indication that you are a solicitor.

Incorporated legal practices should note the Commentary following s.36 of the Solicitors Rule about the requirements of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cwth).

Incorporated legal practices and multi-disciplinary partnerships should note the disclosure requirements in ss.123 and 152 respectively of the Legal Profession Act 2007.

If you have dealings with debt collection or mercantile agents, you should note the requirement of s.29.1 of the Solicitors Rule that you must not allow your business name or stationery to be used by the agent in a manner that is likely to mislead the public.