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 28 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 Part 2: Code of Conduct · 5.0 · archived copy · official source ↗
Cayman Islands Legal Services Code 2026 no clear equivalent
AU Solicitors Solicitors' Conduct Rules Rule 32.1 strong 198 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 37 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 6 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
505 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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Michael Alexander Reid
Breaches, Failures, Solicitors' Accounts Rules
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Shirley Lewald
Others
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Michael Pack
Breaches, Client Money, Failures, Others, Solicitors' Accounts Rules
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Anwaar Ul Haq & Sridevi Veldandi
Breaches, Failures, Solicitors' Accounts Rules
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Simon William Griffiths
Breaches, Client Money, Failures, Others, Solicitors' Accounts Rules
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Paul Sohal
Breaches, Client Money, Failures, Solicitors' Accounts Rules, Others
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P A Holt
Breaches, Others
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Mark Anthony Hollinshead.M
Breaches, Others
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John Dowdeswell
Breaches, Failures, Others
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Carlton H. Campbell
Fined, Restitution ordered | Disciplinary Committee decision delivered December 03, 2011. View PDF DECISION OF THE DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE OF THE GENERAL LEGAL COUNCIL Complaint No. 160/2007 IN THE MATTER of BERTON I. AD…
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Jermaine Ryan Simms
Struck off | Disciplinary Committee decision delivered September 17, 2011. View PDF FORMAL ORDER OF THE DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE OF THE GENERAL LEGAL COUNCIL MADE ON COMPLAINT NO 113 OF 2009 IN THE MATTER OF MICHAEL GILL …
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CARMEL MARY FITZPATRICK
Struck Off the Roll of Practitioners
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DAVID CHARLES LEASK
Suspended
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Julie Theresa DEVERY
Guilty of professional misconduct on 2 charges. Guilty of unsatisfactory professional conduct on 3 charges.
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Kennedy, Jarrod Ross
1. Misappropriation (x141) 2. Failure to account (x89) 3. Wilful breach Section 61 of the Legal Profession Act 1984 - Handling of trust monies (x93) 4. Wilful breach of Section 62 of the Legal Profession Act 1984 - keep…
Costs Removal of practitioner's name from the Roll of Local Lawyers $0.00 View decision -
Giovanni Pietro BUSSA
Guilty of professional misconduct on 3 charges.
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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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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 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 View decision
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.