110Responsibilities of accountable authority—pro bono work by legal services providers

110  Responsibilities of accountable authority—pro bono work by legal services providers

Pro bono work by legal services providers

 (1) The accountable authority of an entity must ensure that the entity, when selecting and retaining legal services providers, does not adversely discriminate against providers that have acted, or may act, pro bono for clients in legal proceedings against the Commonwealth or Commonwealth agencies.

Matters that raise a conflict of interest

 (2) Subsection (1) does not apply if, were a legal services provider to be selected or retained by the entity, an actual conflict of interest would arise between the provider and the entity because of the provider’s pro bono work.

 (3) For subsection (2), circumstances in which an actual conflict of interest would arise include the following:

 (a) if a legal services provider already acts for the Commonwealth or a Commonwealth agency in legal proceedings and accepts a request to act pro bono in those proceedings for another client;

 (b) if a legal services provider has, because it has previously provided legal services to the Commonwealth or a Commonwealth agency, confidential information about the Commonwealth or a Commonwealth agency that would make it unreasonable for the provider to act pro bono for another client against the Commonwealth or Commonwealth agency.