§ discipline

Competence practice

The lawyer must provide a competent standard of work and service and must decline or not accept instructions for work beyond their competence, authorisation or available resources.

194 cases 36% strike-off avg suspension 27.2 mo avg fine 13,532 25 with dishonesty finding

How the codes express this duty

E&W Solicitors SRA Principles & Code CCS 3.2 strong 79 cases
3.2 You ensure that the service you provide to clients is competent and delivered in a timely manner.

SRA Code of Conduct for Solicitors, RELs and RFLs · 2019 · archived copy · official source ↗

E&W Barristers BSB Handbook CD7; rC21.7; rC21.8 strong 12 cases
CD7 You must provide a competent standard of work and service to each client. rC21 You must not accept instructions ... if: ... .7 you are not authorised and/or otherwise accredited to perform the work required ...; or .8 you are not competent to handle the particular matter or otherwise do not have enough experience to handle the matter;

BSB Handbook · current · archived copy · official source ↗

Cayman Islands Legal Services Code 2026 P.6; R.4.1(c)(ii) strong
Attorneys-at-law shall provide a proper standard of work and service to their clients... shall not act... if the attorney-at-law, or a recognised law entity, does not have sufficient resources or competence to deal properly with the matter

Cayman Islands Legal Services Code of Professional Conduct · 2026 · archived copy

AU Solicitors Solicitors' Conduct Rules Rule 4.1.3 strong 11 cases
A solicitor must also:... 4.1.3 deliver legal services competently, diligently and as promptly as reasonably possible.

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

AU Barristers Uniform Barristers Rules rr21(a),5(c) partial 1 case
A barrister must accept a brief from a solicitor to appear before a court in a field in which the barrister practises or professes to practise if: (a) the brief is within the barrister's capacity, skill and experience ... barristers ... must act honestly, fairly, skilfully and with competence and diligence.

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

IE Solicitors Law Society Guide Ch2 — Refusal of instructions; Proper standard of legal services: General strong
A solicitor should not accept instructions to act in a matter for which they do not have sufficient expertise, time, or adequate resources to give the necessary attention to the matter... The standard of care expected of a solicitor is that of a reasonably careful and skilful solicitor who has the relevant expertise.

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

IE Barristers Bar Code of Conduct Rule 2.3(f); Rule 3.21 strong
Where Barristers receive instructions which they believe to be beyond their competence they should decline to act in the matter and shall so inform the instructing solicitor without delay.

Code of Conduct for the Bar of Ireland · 2024 · archived copy · official source ↗

JM Attorneys Canons of Professional Ethics Canon IV; Canon IV(s) strong 77 cases
AN ATTORNEY SHALL ACT IN THE BEST INTERESTS OF HIS CLIENT AND REPRESENT HIM HONESTLY, COMPETENTLY AND ZEALOUSLY WITHIN THE BOUNDS OF THE LAW. ... [IV(s)] In the performance of his duties an Attorney shall not act with inexcusable or deplorable negligence or neglect.

Legal Profession (Canons of Professional Ethics) Rules · 1978 (principal) · archived copy · official source ↗

JE Lawyers Law Society of Jersey Code P.6; R.1.1 c)ii) strong
Members must provide a proper standard of work and service to their clients... A member... must not act... ii) if the member, his or her employee or his or her firm do not have sufficient resources or competence to deal properly with the matter.

Law Society of Jersey Code of Conduct · 1 January 2017 · archived copy · official source ↗

ON Lawyers LSO Rules of Prof. Conduct r 3.1-2; r 3.1-2 commentary [6] strong
3.1-2 A lawyer shall perform any legal services undertaken on a client's behalf to the standard of a competent lawyer. [Commentary [6]: A lawyer must recognize a task for which the lawyer lacks competence ... If consulted about such a task, the lawyer should (a) decline to act; (b) obtain the client's instructions to retain, consult, or collaborate with a licensee who is competent for that task; or (c) obtain the client's consent for the lawyer to become competent without undue delay, risk or expense to the client.]

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

BC Lawyers BC Code r 3.1-2 strong 5 cases
A lawyer must perform all legal services undertaken on a client's behalf to the standard of a competent lawyer.

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

NZ Lawyers Conduct & Client Care Rules r 3 strong
In providing regulated services to a client, a lawyer must always act competently and in a timely manner consistent with the terms of the retainer and the duty to take reasonable care.

Lawyers and Conveyancers Act (Lawyers: Conduct and Client Care) Rules 2008 · SR 2008/214 · archived copy · official source ↗

SCO Solicitors LSS Standards of Conduct B1.10 strong 9 cases
You must only act in those matters where you are competent to do so.

Law Society of Scotland — Practice Rules 2011, Rule B1 (Standards of Conduct) · 2011 · archived copy · official source ↗

SG Lawyers Professional Conduct Rules 2015 r 5 (Honesty, competence and diligence) strong
5 Honesty, competence and diligence

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

HK Solicitors Solicitors' Guide Principle 6.01 / Principle 5.03 strong
A solicitor owes his client a duty to be competent to perform any legal services undertaken on the client's behalf. ... A solicitor must not act or continue to act in circumstances where he cannot represent the client with competence or diligence.

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

HK Barristers Bar Code of Conduct para 10.5(a) strong
He should not undertake any tasks which:- (a) he knows or ought to know he is not competent or sufficiently experienced to handle;

Code of Conduct of the Bar of the Hong Kong SAR · 2018 · archived copy · official source ↗

Cases dealing with this duty

Clear

194 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.