Expressions of Interest: Legal Services Commissioner Position

06/02/2023

Recruitments

An opportunity to lead the legal profession regulation sector within NSW as an independent statutory officer which sits within the Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ)

• Senior Executive Band 1
• $256,323 to $280,426 total remuneration payable
• Based in Sydney CBD
• Fixed Term Opportunity
• Applications close Sunday, 12 February at 11:59pm (AEDT)

What you’ll do:

As the Legal Services Commissioner you will operate with considerable statutory autonomy, you are accountable for the delivery of services provided by the Office of the Legal Services Commissioner. The primary functions of the Commissioner’s Office are to manage and investigate complaints about the conduct of lawyers (including making summary disciplinary orders against lawyers); monitor the professional associations’ handling of complaints; reviewing decisions of the professional associations upon application; and prosecuting serious cases of misconduct in the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal and/or the Court of Appeal.

The Commissioner is also required to contribute to the development of professional conduct rules (and Uniform Rules under the Uniform Law), propose regulatory reform to the Attorney General and provide advice as requested. You will exercise a high degree of independent decision-making authority in making orders to summarily dismiss complaints or to caution or reprimand legal practitioners. In more serious cases, the Commissioner is responsible for prosecuting a practitioner in the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

The Commissioner is also empowered to review individual complaints that have been dealt with by the professional associations and may substitute his or her own decision for the decision of the first instance decision maker. As such, the Commissioner acts as an independent merits review body.

For more details regarding this role, please click here to view the full advertisement.

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