120Audit of incorporated legal practices

120 Audit of incorporated legal practices (1) The law society council may conduct an audit of— (a) the compliance of an incorporated legal practice (and of its officers and employees) with the requirements of— (i) this part; or (ii) a regulation or the legal profession rules, so far as they relate specifically to incorporated legal practices; and (b) the management of the provision of legal services by the incorporated legal practice (including the supervision of officers and employees providing the services). Note Section 107 (3) (Incorporated legal practice must have legal practitioner director etc) requires legal practitioner directors to ensure that appropriate management systems are implemented and maintained. (2) The law society council may appoint a suitably qualified person to conduct the audit. nominating the occupant of a position (see s 207). (3) The appointment may be made generally or in relation to a particular incorporated legal practice or a particular audit. (4) An audit may be conducted whether or not a complaint has been made against an Australian lawyer in relation to the provision of legal services by the incorporated legal practice. (5) A report of an audit of the incorporated legal practice— (a) must be given to the practice; and (b) may be given by the law society council to a corresponding authority; and (c) may be taken into account in relation to any disciplinary proceeding taken against a legal practitioner director or someone else or in relation to the grant, amendment, suspension or cancellation of Australian practising certificates. 121 Application of ch 6 to div 2.6.2 audits Chapter 6 (Investigations) applies to an audit under this division. 122 Banning of incorporated legal practices (1) On the application of the law society council, the Supreme Court may make an order disqualifying a corporation from providing legal services in the ACT for the period the court considers appropriate if (a) a ground for disqualifying the corporation under this section has been established; and (b) the disqualification is justified. (2) An order under this section in relation to a corporation may be made— (a) subject to conditions about the conduct of the corporation; or (b) subject to conditions about when or in what circumstances the order is to take effect; or (c) together with orders to safeguard the interests of clients or employees of the corporation. (3) Action may be taken against an incorporated legal practice on any of the following grounds: (a) that a legal practitioner director or an Australian legal practitioner who is an officer or employee of the practice has been found guilty of professional misconduct under an ACT law or a law of another jurisdiction; (b) that the law society council is satisfied, after conducting an audit of the practice, that the practice has failed to implement satisfactory management and supervision of its provision of legal services; (c) that the practice (or a related body corporate) has contravened section 102 (Nonlegal services and businesses of incorporated legal practices); (d) that the practice has contravened section 119 (Disqualified people—incorporated legal practices); (e) that a person who is an officer of the practice, and who is the subject of an order under any of the following provisions, is acting in the management of the practice: (i) section 123 (Disqualification from managing incorporated legal practice) or a provision of a corresponding law that corresponds to that section; (ii) section 148 (Prohibition on multidisciplinary partnerships with certain partners who are not Australian legal practitioners) or a provision of a corresponding law that corresponds to that section. (4) If a corporation is disqualified under this section, the law society council that applied for the order must tell the regulator of every other (5) If a corporation is disqualified from providing legal services in another jurisdiction under a corresponding law, the law society council may decide that the corporation is taken to be disqualified from providing legal services in the ACT for the same period. (6) However, subsection (5) does not prevent the law society council from instead applying for an order under this section. (7) A corporation commits an offence if it provides legal services in contravention of an order under this section. (8) A corporation that is disqualified under this section stops being an (9) Conduct of an Australian legal practitioner who provides legal services on behalf of a corporation in the capacity of an officer or employee of the corporation can be unsatisfactory professional conduct or professional misconduct if the practitioner ought reasonably to have known that the corporation is disqualified under (10) A regulation may make provision in relation to the publication and notification of orders made under this section, including notification of appropriate authorities of other jurisdictions. regulator, of another jurisdiction, means the entity that is the regulator of the jurisdiction under the corresponding law of the jurisdiction or, if there is no regulator under that law, the entity corresponding to the law society council under the corresponding law.