What is the risk if I use someone who isn’t a qualified legal practitioner?
Using someone who isn’t properly qualified to give legal advice can be dangerous. They might:
- Give you wrong advice that leads to legal trouble.
- Stop you from getting the help or compensation you deserve.
- Leave you unprotected if something goes wrong, because they don’t have professional insurance like real lawyers do.
Who are unqualified legal practitioners?
They usually fall into one of these groups:
- People with no legal training who impersonate lawyers.
- Other non-legal professionals (like accountants or migration agents) who do more legal work than they’re allowed to.
- Lawyers who are not currently licensed but still offer legal services.
- Former lawyers who have been ‘struck off’ by the courts and cannot practice law, but still act like they can.
- Law students who have not yet completed or attained all the necessary qualifications to practice law.
What counts as unqualified legal work?
Here are some examples of what unqualified people might do (which could be illegal):
- Giving legal advice.
- Handling someone else’s court case.
- Writing legal letters or documents for others.
- Going to court to speak for someone else.
Even if they do it for free or give the right advice, it can still be against the law.
What can you do to stay safe?
- Check if your lawyer is licensed by visiting the Law Society’s “Find a Lawyerr” page.
- Report unqualified legal work in the ACT by filling out the Law Society’s Complaint enquiry form.
