Ethics Ruling Number
R5046
Area of Law
Legal practice management
Category
Conflict of Interest
Ethics Ruling Date
9/18/2025
Ethics Pub Date
11/28/2025
Ethics Background
A solicitor is employed as a part-time employee of a law practice, providing advice-only services predominantly to legal aid clients. The solicitor sought approval from their employer to establish a secondary law practice as a sole practitioner a significant distance from the law practice of which they are an employee. The employer directed the solicitor to cease the sole practice in anticipation of conflicts of interests arising which may prevent them from acting for future clients of the law practice.
Ruling
In the opinion of the Ethics Committee and on the information presented: 1. Provided there are in place appropriate and effective conflict management systems between the law practice and the solicitor’s private practice, there is no conflict of interest for the solicitor that prevents them from engaging in concurrent legal practice. 2. It is not the role of the Ethics Committee to provide an opinion regarding the solicitor’s employment rights or obligations or the funding obligations of the law practice.

Law Institute of Victoria
Ethics Committee of Law Institute of Victoria Ltd
Legal Ethics Manager
Phone: 03 9607 9336
Email: ethics@liv.asn.au

Back to Search