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
-
Habib Abraham MELLICK
Guilty of professional misconduct on 1 charge.
-
Paul Michael VOLL
Guilty of professional misconduct on 1 charge.
-
Warren Lance ROSEN
Guilty of professional misconduct on 1 charge.
-
Victoria Emma Craig
Breaches, Solicitors' Accounts Rules
-
Christopher Charles Edward Hayes
Breaches
-
Andrew Christopher Aitchison
Breaches, Failures
-
Sue Machelle JOHNSTON
Guilty of professional misconduct on 9 charges. Guilty of unsatisfactory professional misconduct on 2 charges.
-
Greenstein, David
1. Contravened a condition on his practising certificate for the years ending 30 June 2011 and 30 June 2012 2. Failed to comply with his undertaking to the Law Society 3. Failed to respond to correspondence in respect o…
-
Karl SCOTT
Guilty of professional misconduct on 2 charges.
-
David Masao Saito
Agreed Statement of Facts
-
Peter Curtiss BEVAN
Guilty of professional misconduct on 1 charge
-
William James PETSCHLER
Guilty of unsatisfactory professional conduct on 2 charges. Guilty of professional misconduct on 8 charges.
-
Nasr, Joe
Ground 1: Misappropriation of trust money Ground 2: Breach of section 258 LPA 2004 - dealing with trust money received in the form of cash Ground 3: Failure to comply with section 671 LPA 2004 - failure to comply with i…
-
Fiona Jayne FYFE
Guilty of professional misconduct on 4 charges
-
Michael Dermott YARWOOD
Guilty of professional misconduct on 1 charge.
-
Gail Susan HINSCHEN
Guilty of professional misconduct on 1 charge. Guilty of unsatisfactory professional conduct on 1 charge.
-
-
Ian Wakeham BARTELS
Guilty of professional misconduct on 1 charge.
-
Mark Shelton STOWER
Guilty of professional misconduct on 2 charges. Guilty of unsatisfactory professional conduct on 2 charges.
-
Andrew Christopher Lee
Agreed Statement of Facts
-
W. Anthony Pearson
Reprimanded | Disciplinary Committee decision delivered January 24, 2015. View PDF DECISION OF THE DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE OF THE GENERAL LEGAL COUNCIL COMPLAINT NO: 231/2005 IN THE MATTER of LEILA VALENTINE and ANTHONY …
-
-
Dalida Rajeshree Jhugroo
Breaches, Failures
-
Stephen John Acres
Breaches, Client Money, Failures, Solicitors' Accounts Rules
-
Marie-Garrard Newton
Breaches, Delays, Failures, Others, Solicitors' Accounts Rules
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.