Trust money accounts – Barrister’s fees in advance – External Examination

18/04/2017

Standards

Any barrister who has received fees in advance – that is, as described in the Legal Profession Uniform Law Application Regulation 2015 (the LPULAR), money on account of legal costs for legal services in advance of the provision by the barrister of the legal services – must appoint an External Examiner to carry out an examination of the clause 15 account for the period 1 July 2015 to 31 March 2017. Clause 15(2) of the LPULAR also requires that a copy of the External Examination report be provided to the Bar Council, in an approved form, no later than 7 June 2017. A copy of the approved form is available on the Bar Association’s website under the heading ‘Fees in Advance’ here.

It is essential that a barrister who receives fees in advance examines clause 15 of the LPULAR in detail. Links to the legislation can be found on the Bar Association website here.

Any questions? Please contact the Bar Association’s Legal Officer, Angela Huang, on 9232 4055 or pcd@nswbar.asn.au.