It’s never stopped lawyers from being admitted before!!!
An aspiring lawyer with a “personality problem” has been told by the Legal Profession Admission Board that she cannot be admitted.
Following an attempt to have the application decision overturned in the Court of Appeal, the applicant — whose name has been protected — turned to the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) to argue the Legal Profession Admission Board (LPAB) should admit her.
QCAT determined it did not have the jurisdiction, but even if it had, it would have dismissed the applicant’s case as a “misconceived or an abuse of process”, given her handling of the proceedings.
In August 2022, the LPAB found the applicant was not suitable for admission and informed the Supreme Court of Queensland’s registrar that she should not be admitted because of her failure to comply with its request for further material.
This further material included a request for a report from a psychiatrist and psychologist about a “personality problem”, which the applicant mentioned herself in a submission to the board.
In a hearing before the Court of Appeal, she relied on a letter from her general practitioner and told the board to accept evidence that the report “has not been referred, therefore, either is not suitable”.
Her lawyers argued the report was “unreasonable” and the board incorrectly interpreted her remarks about a personality problem.
“It should not have been necessary for the board to request that the applicant obtain a psychological or psychiatric report and that a letter from a general practitioner was capable of showing that applicant was able to satisfactorily carry out the inherent requirements of practice,” her lawyers told the Court of Appeal.
This letter was not found to be sufficient enough to persuade the court that it “should not have concerns” about the applicant’s “mental functioning, personality and suitability for admission”.
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