The duty in context
No baseless or threatened misconduct report profession
The lawyer must not make or threaten a professional-misconduct allegation or report without a genuine, reasonably held and bona fide belief that it applies.
How the codes express this duty
E&W Solicitors SRA Principles & Code no clear equivalent
E&W Barristers BSB Handbook rC67 strong 50 cases
rC67 You must never make, or threaten to make, a report under Rule rC66 without a genuine and reasonably held belief that Rule rC66 applies.
BSB Handbook · current · archived copy · official source ↗
Cayman Islands Legal Services Code 2026 no clear equivalent
AU Solicitors Solicitors' Conduct Rules Rule 32.1 strong 196 cases
A solicitor must not make an allegation against another Australian legal practitioner of unsatisfactory professional conduct or professional misconduct unless the allegation is made bona fide and the solicitor believes on reasonable grounds that available material by which the allegation could be supported provides a proper basis for it.
Australian Solicitors' Conduct Rules · 2015 (June 2026 compilation) · archived copy · official source ↗
AU Barristers Uniform Barristers Rules no clear equivalent
IE Solicitors Law Society Guide no clear equivalent
IE Barristers Bar Code of Conduct no clear equivalent
JM Attorneys Canons of Professional Ethics no clear equivalent
JE Lawyers Law Society of Jersey Code no clear equivalent
ON Lawyers LSO Rules of Prof. Conduct r 3.2-5(b); r 7.1-3 commentary [1] partial
3.2-5 A lawyer shall not, in an attempt to gain a benefit for a client, threaten, or advise a client to threaten, without reasonable and lawful justification ... (b) to make a complaint to a regulatory authority. [7.1-3 commentary [1]: In all cases, the report must be made without malice or ulterior motive. 3.2-5 commentary [1]: It is an abuse of the process of a court or, ordinarily, a regulatory authority to threaten to make or advance a charge or complaint in order to secure the satisfaction of a private grievance.]
Law Society of Ontario — Rules of Professional Conduct · current · archived copy · official source ↗
BC Lawyers BC Code r 7.1-3, commentary [2] partial 41 cases
Nothing in this paragraph is meant to interfere with the lawyer-client relationship. In all cases, the report must be made without malice or ulterior motive.
Code of Professional Conduct for British Columbia (BC Code) · 2017 · archived copy · official source ↗
NZ Lawyers Conduct & Client Care Rules r 2.10 strong
A lawyer must not use, or threaten to use, the complaints or disciplinary process for an improper purpose.
Lawyers and Conveyancers Act (Lawyers: Conduct and Client Care) Rules 2008 · SR 2008/214 · archived copy · official source ↗
SCO Solicitors LSS Standards of Conduct no clear equivalent
SG Lawyers Professional Conduct Rules 2015 r 29 (Allegations against another legal practitioner) partial 11 cases
29 Allegations against another legal practitioner
Legal Profession (Professional Conduct) Rules 2015 · 2015 · archived copy · official source ↗
HK Solicitors Solicitors' Guide no clear equivalent
HK Barristers Bar Code of Conduct para 10.50 partial
A practising barrister shall not make any allegation of misconduct or dishonesty against another barrister unless such allegation is supported by reasonably credible evidence.
Code of Conduct of the Bar of the Hong Kong SAR · 2018 · archived copy · official source ↗
Cases dealing with this duty
522 decisions · link basis: found breached = a tribunal finding; rule cited = the mapped provision is cited in the decision; text match = high-precision text pattern
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Peter Ross CLAPIN
Guilty of professional misconduct on 2 charges. Guilty of unsatisfactory professional conduct on 2 charges.
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Bruce Angus LAURIE
Guilty of professional misconduct on 2 charges.
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PAUL JOHN O'HALLORAN
Professional Misconduct and Suspended
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Georgia Chin Hua LIM
Guilty of professional misconduct on 1 charge.
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Jacqueline Levesque
Agreed Statement of Facts
Agreed Statement of Facts View decision -
Mr Thong Sum LEE
Findings of professional misconduct
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Gemma Anne BUSCH
Guilty of professional misconduct on 1 charge.
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J. Vernon (Jonathan) Ricketts
Restitution and Repayment Ordered | Disciplinary Committee decision delivered April 16, 2011. View PDF FORMAL ORDER OF THE DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE OF THE GENERAL LEGAL COUNCIL MADE ON COMPLAINT NO. 96 of 2009 IN THE MATT…
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Peter Nicholas Arthur ROWLANDS
Guilty of professional misconduct on 10 charges. Guilty of unprofessional conduct on 2 charges.
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Singh, Jaswinder
1. Practising contrary to conditions of practising certificate 2. Unethical conduct: making false declaration in application for renewal of practising certificate 3. Jaswinder Singh: (i) misled Investigators (ii) used f…
Costs Removal of practitioner's name from the Roll of Local Lawyers $0.00 Proceedings Instituted View decision -
English, Martin Francis
1. Breached an undertaking to the Legal Services Commissioner 2. Practised without a Practising Certificate 3. Failed to account 4. Wilfully breached Section 61 of the Legal Profession Act 1987 - handling of trust money…
Conditions on Practising Certificate Costs Reprimand $0.00 Proceedings Instituted View decision -
Carbone, Domenic
Professional Misconduct 1. Failure to comply with requirement under Section 660 of the Legal Profession Act 2004 Unsatisfactory Professional Conduct 2. Solicitor caused a matter file to be destroyed or otherwise made un…
Costs Fine Practitioner to undertake and complete further legal education Reprimand $2,000.00 Proceedings Instituted View decision -
Chandra Soares
Struck off | Disciplinary Committee decision delivered February 12, 2011. View PDF JUDGMENT OF THE DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE OF THE GENERAL LEGAL COUNCILCOMPLAINT No. 116 OF 2008 BETWEEN KENNETH CHUNG COMPLAINANT AND CHAND…
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Antonnette Haughton Cardenas
Repayment Ordered, Struck off | Disciplinary Committee decision delivered February 05, 2011. View PDF FORMAL ORDER OF THE DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE OF THE GENERAL LEGAL COUNCIL MADE ON COMPLAINTNO. 66 of 2009 IN THE MATTER…
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Hinde, Jeffrey James
1. Breach of Section 61(2) of the Legal Profession Act, 1987 - handling of trust moneys 2. Breach of Section 255(1)(b) of the Legal Profession Act, 2004 - requirements for the holding, disbursing and accounting for trus…
Removal of practitioner's name from the Roll of Local Lawyers $0.00 Proceedings Instituted View decision -
Stormer, Terence William
1. Breach of Section 61 of the Legal Profession Act 1987 - handling of trust moneys 2. Breach of Section 62 of the Legal Profession Act 1987 - keeping of trust accounts 3. Attempting to mislead client 4. Failing to acco…
Costs Removal of practitioner's name from the Roll of Local Lawyers (18/01/2011 Disciplinary Action) $0.00 Proceedings Instituted 2 PDFs View decision -
Richard James Burley (J)
Breaches, Failures, Others
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Ogbondah Kkem Omodu
Breaches, Failures, Others, Solicitors' Accounts Rules
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Bernard Rodney Brandon
Breaches, Failures, Others
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Miller, James Mathew
Professional Misconduct 1. Failed to comply with a notice pursuant to Section 660 of the Legal Profession Act 2004 Unsatisfactory Professional Conduct 2. Failed to provide tax invoices to client 3. Received trust money …
Costs Fine Reprimand (20/06/2011 Disciplinary Action) $10,000.00 Proceedings Instituted 1 PDF View decision -
Edwin Mark DONNELLY
Guilty of professional misconduct on 1 charge. Guilty of unsatisfactory professional conduct on 1 charge.
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David Christopher MACKIE
Guilty of professional misconduct on 2 charges.
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MARTIN LEE SEGLER
Professional Misconduct and Unsatisfactory Professional Conduct and Suspended
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DAVID CHARLES LEASK
Professional Misconduct
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DAMIEN GERARD BRENNAN
Struck Off the Roll of Practitioners
Duty classification does not yet cover every jurisdiction (Ontario, New Zealand and Singapore decisions are indexed but not yet duty-classified), so counts here understate those corpora.