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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Arnaldo Alphanso Brown
Fined | Disciplinary Committee decision delivered April 14, 2018. View PDF FORMAL ORDER OF THE DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE OF THE GENERAL LEGAL COUNCIL COMPLAINT NO: 136/2017 IN THE MATTER OF GENERAL LEGAL COUNCIL (ALLAN WOO…
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Michael James QUINN
Guilty of professional misconduct on all charges.
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Luke James MCDONALD
Guilty Professional misconduct on both charges.
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Penelope Ann CORBETT
Guilty - professional misconduct on both charges
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Ashton Lloyd Doherty
Breaches, Failures
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Kessar Nabi
Breaches, Client Money, Failures, Solicitors' Accounts Rules
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Lee Lipson
Criminal Convictions
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Baljinder Hayre
Breaches
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Edward Sibley
Breaches, Client Money, Solicitors' Accounts Rules
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Richard Charles Prescott
Breaches, Client Money, Failures, Solicitors' Accounts Rules
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Jermaine Ryan Simms
Restitution Ordered | Disciplinary Committee decision delivered October 12, 2017. View PDF View Decision SANCTION DECISION OF THE DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE OF THE GENERAL LEGAL COUNCIL COMPLAINT NO: 48/2009 IN THE MATTER O…
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Alexia Margaret WARREN
The respondent's conduct amounted to Professional Misconduct
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Craig Selwyn Lee JENSEN
Guilty of Professional Misconduct
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Russell William Tracy BIDDLE
Professional misconduct (theft of a total of $1,821,230.59 from two of his clients' estates)
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Jodi Leigh DINGWALL
3 Charges of Delay and Failure to advance a client's actions - Proven. 3 Charges of False Representations - Proven.
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PETER CHRISTISON NEIL
Professional Misconduct and conditions imposed
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RONALD WILLIAM BOWER
Professional Misconduct
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Chad Everett ROWE
28 Charges of professional misconduct proven
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Andrew John Peters
Criminal Convictions
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Rodney Richard BUDGEN
Professional misconduct
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Robert John GOULD
Unprofessional conduct and Professional Misconduct
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Ashworth, Gary John
Misappropriation of trust funds 1. Breach of section 255 LPA 2004 - Holding, disbursing and accounting for trust money 2. Breach of section 263 LPA 2004 - Reporting certain irregularities and suspected irregularities 3.…
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Peter John WATTS
Guilty of professional misconduct.
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.