§ discipline

Full disclosure on ex parte applications court

On an ex parte or without-notice application the lawyer must disclose all known, non-privileged factual and legal matters that could be argued against granting the relief sought.

35 cases 34% strike-off avg suspension 6.5 mo avg fine 71,000 8 with dishonesty finding

How the codes express this duty

E&W Solicitors SRA Principles & Code no clear equivalent
E&W Barristers BSB Handbook no clear equivalent
Cayman Islands Legal Services Code 2026 no clear equivalent
AU Solicitors Solicitors' Conduct Rules Rule 19.4 strong 7 cases
A solicitor seeking any interlocutory relief in an ex parte application must disclose to the court all factual or legal matters which: 19.4.1 are within the solicitor's knowledge; 19.4.2 are not protected by legal professional privilege; and 19.4.3 the solicitor has reasonable grounds to believe would support an argument against granting the relief or limiting its terms adversely to the client.

Australian Solicitors' Conduct Rules · 2015 (June 2026 compilation) · archived copy · official source ↗

AU Barristers Uniform Barristers Rules rr29-30 strong 2 cases
A barrister seeking any interlocutory relief in an ex parte application must disclose to the court all factual or legal matters which: (a) are within the barrister's knowledge; (b) are not protected by legal professional privilege; and (c) the barrister has reasonable grounds to believe would support an argument against granting the relief or limiting its terms adversely to the client.

Legal Profession Uniform Conduct (Barristers) Rules · 2015 (as amended 14 May 2025) · archived copy · official source ↗

IE Solicitors Law Society Guide Ch5 — Ex parte applications strong 5 cases
In ex parte court applications, the solicitor has a particular duty to act in good faith and to present the court with all relevant information and/or correspondence and make full disclosure in respect of the application before the court.

Solicitor's Guide to Professional Conduct (Law Society of Ireland) · 4th ed. (2022) · archived copy · official source ↗

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 5.1-1 commentary [6] strong
When opposing interests are not represented, for example, in without notice or uncontested matters or in other situations in which the full proof and argument inherent in the adversarial system cannot be achieved, the lawyer must take particular care to be accurate, candid and comprehensive in presenting the client's case so as to ensure that the tribunal is not misled.

Law Society of Ontario — Rules of Professional Conduct · current · archived copy · official source ↗

BC Lawyers BC Code r 5.1-1, commentary [6] partial 3 cases
When opposing interests are not represented, for example, in without notice or uncontested matters or in other situations in which the full proof and argument inherent in the adversarial system cannot be achieved, the lawyer must take particular care to be accurate, candid and comprehensive in presenting the client's case so as to ensure that the tribunal is not misled.

Code of Professional Conduct for British Columbia (BC Code) · 2017 · archived copy · official source ↗

NZ Lawyers Conduct & Client Care Rules r 13.2.2 partial
A lawyer must not discuss any case or matter before the court with any judicial officer ... outside of the rules of procedure that permit matters to be raised in the absence of the other party (such as in cases of urgency or where an ex parte application is justified). In cases of doubt, the lawyers for other parties ... should be informed of any matters being brought before the court.

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 9 (Conduct of proceedings) partial 2 cases
9 Conduct of proceedings

Legal Profession (Professional Conduct) Rules 2015 · 2015 · archived copy · official source ↗

HK Solicitors Solicitors' Guide Principle 10.04 Commentary 1 strong
A party seeking relief ex-parte must make full and frank disclosure to the court of all material matters within his knowledge. Failure to do so may result in the discharge of any order obtained with consequent loss to a client.

Hong Kong Solicitors' Guide to Professional Conduct (Volume 1) · current · archived copy · official source ↗

HK Barristers Bar Code of Conduct no clear equivalent

Cases dealing with this duty

Clear

3 decisions · link basis: found breached = a tribunal finding; rule cited = the mapped provision is cited in the decision; text match = high-precision text pattern

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.