Building a Better Lawyer Discipline System: The Queensland Experience

In many jurisdictions, lawyer-run discipline systems are inefficient, overly lenient and insufficiently responsive to consumer\u27s concerns. Queensland\u27s Legal Profession Act 2004 (Qld) breaks away from that model by moving lawyer discipline out of lawyers\u27 professional associations and into an independent agency. It articulates a decidedly consumer-oriented approach to lawyer discipline and gives Queensland\u27s new Legal Services Commissioner the power to investigate and prosecute all discipline complaints. This article looks at Queensland\u27s recent reforms, and considers how well the new system is meeting its twin goals of consumer protection and traditional lawyer discipline. Using interviews and other data, the article identifies some of the strengths and weaknesses of Queensland\u27s new discipline system and considers, inter alia, the meaning of “consumer protection” within the context of a lawyer discipline system and the role of lay input in discipline cases. It concludes by noting that while there are some structural problems with Queensland\u27s new system, there is also much that other jurisdictions can learn from Queensland\u27s experience