The AFR Reports
When a High Court judge this week raised concerns about the pitfalls of the profit motive at publicly listed law firms he cut to the heart of the financial difficulties facing Slater and Gordon and Shine Corporate.
It was a timely intervention by Justice Geoffrey Nettle because it is clear that the accounting rules and complexities associated with a public listing of a law firm can ultimately work against the interests of clients.
Nettle expressed his concerns in a speech to the annual Australian Bar Association dinner held in Canberra to celebrate the appointment of new silks around the country in 2015.
The new barristers paid their respects to the chief justice and justices of the court on Monday and then attended a dinner that night. Nettle refused a request to provide a copy of his speech but several sources confirmed his remarks in relation to listed law firms.
He said he was concerned about the additional pressures that are brought to bear on lawyers working for public companies. He highlighted the inherent conflicts of interest between acting for clients and for shareholders.
There has long been a debate about this in Australian legal circles. The hard-nosed lawyers say law firms have been run to make money for well over a decade.
They argue that the traditional motive for being in a law firm of just being a member of a great profession and running cases for clients died well before the advent of publicly listed law firms.
Read Full Report: http://www.afr.com/brand/chanticleer/high-court-judge-warns-of-conflicts-facing-listed-law-firms-20160202-gmjues#ixzz3z7Oxpnmd
