The duty in context
Hold a current practising certificate practice
The lawyer must hold a current practising certificate or authorisation and comply with the conditions of practising before providing legal services.
How the codes express this duty
E&W Solicitors SRA Principles & Code no clear equivalent
E&W Barristers BSB Handbook rC89.9.b; rC94.7 partial 12 cases
rC89 ... .9 there are systems in place to check that: ... .b every BSB authorised individual practising from your chambers has a current practising certificate and every other authorised (non-BSB) individual providing reserved legal activities is currently authorised by their Approved Regulator.
BSB Handbook · current · archived copy · official source ↗
Cayman Islands Legal Services Code 2026 R.13.3 partial
An attorney-at-law and a recognised law entity shall comply with any proper conditions or limitations reasonably imposed by the Council, including on the conduct of their practice.
Cayman Islands Legal Services Code of Professional Conduct · 2026 · archived copy
AU Solicitors Solicitors' Conduct Rules no clear equivalent
AU Barristers Uniform Barristers Rules no clear equivalent
IE Solicitors Law Society Guide Ch7 — Payment for assistant solicitors' practising certificates strong 10 cases
It is the obligation of each solicitor to ensure that they have a current practising certificate in place... It is both professional misconduct and a criminal offence for a solicitor to provide legal services without holding a current practising certificate issued by the Law Society.
Solicitor's Guide to Professional Conduct (Law Society of Ireland) · 4th ed. (2022) · archived copy · official source ↗
IE Barristers Bar Code of Conduct Rule 9.1 strong 10 cases
It shall be a requirement of all practising Barristers that they hold a current practising certificate. The Bar Council may specify by way of regulations, requirements to hold, applications for, the issuing, amendment, suspension and revocation of practising certificates ... Barristers shall comply [with such regulations].
Code of Conduct for the Bar of Ireland · 2024 · archived copy · official source ↗
JM Attorneys Canons of Professional Ethics Canon II(j); Canon V(s) strong 2 cases
Save as provided by Section 7 of the Principal Act, an Attorney shall not practise as a lawyer unless he has paid the prescribed fee in accordance with Section 5(1) of the Principal Act and has been issued with a Practising Certificate by the General Legal Council. ... [V(s)] Subject to the provisions of subsection 2 of section 5 of the Principal Act, an Attorney shall not practise as a lawyer except by virtue of and in accordance with the practising certificate issued to him by the General Legal Council.
Legal Profession (Canons of Professional Ethics) Rules · 1978 (principal) · archived copy · official source ↗
JE Lawyers Law Society of Jersey Code R.11.1 partial
In accordance with, and except as provided by The Law Society of Jersey Law 2005, no person shall practise Jersey law as an advocate or solicitor unless he or she is an ordinary member of the Law Society.
Law Society of Jersey Code of Conduct · 1 January 2017 · archived copy · official source ↗
ON Lawyers LSO Rules of Prof. Conduct r 7.6-1.2 partial
A lawyer whose licence to practise law is suspended shall comply with the requirements of the by-laws and shall not (a) practise law; (b) represent or hold himself or herself out as a person entitled to practise law; or (c) represent or hold himself or herself out as a person entitled to provide legal services. [The RPC restricts practice while suspended; the affirmative annual-licence/fee requirement sits in the by-laws.]
Law Society of Ontario — Rules of Professional Conduct · current · archived copy · official source ↗
BC Lawyers BC Code no clear equivalent
NZ Lawyers Conduct & Client Care Rules r 14.2 / r 1.2 partial
A lawyer who holds a practising certificate as a barrister sole must not— (a) practise as a solicitor; ... barrister sole means a lawyer ... who is the holder of a current practising certificate authorising the lawyer to act as a barrister and not as a barrister and solicitor.
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 no clear equivalent
HK Solicitors Solicitors' Guide Principle 2.01 strong
A solicitor who does not hold a practising certificate is not qualified to act as a solicitor in private practice (Legal Practitioners Ordinance (Cap. 159), section 7). A sole practitioner or partner must hold an unconditional practising certificate.
Hong Kong Solicitors' Guide to Professional Conduct (Volume 1) · current · archived copy · official source ↗
HK Barristers Bar Code of Conduct para 5.1 strong
A barrister may not practise as such unless he:- (a) holds a valid practising certificate issued by the Bar Council under section 30; and (b) save where he has been admitted under section 27(4), has provided in writing to the Bar Council the current address and telephone number(s) of the professional chambers in Hong Kong from which he practises.
Code of Conduct of the Bar of the Hong Kong SAR · 2018 · archived copy · official source ↗
Cases dealing with this duty
384 decisions · link basis: found breached = a tribunal finding; rule cited = the mapped provision is cited in the decision; text match = high-precision text pattern
-
Louisa Frances Clapton
Breaches, Code of Conduct for Solicitors, REL's & RFL's 2019, Dishonesty, SRA Principles 2019
-
Eaton, John Anthony
Engaged in legal practice without a practising certificate during the period October to November 2025 Engaged in unsupervised legal practice and without professional indemnity insurance Failed to disclose relevant matte…
Refusal of grant of practising certificate for the period 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026 pursuant to s 45 of the Legal Profession Uniform Law (NSW) (Uniform Law) $0.00 About About the OLSC The Commissioner History Mission statement Structure Contact Contact the OLSC Give us your feedback: online surveys Access to information (GIPAA) Community information Information for lawyers Fact sheets FAQs Other regulatory and complaint-handling organisations Contact LawAccess NSW for legal information " You and Your Lawyer", Hot Topics 78 Legal Information Access Centre (LIAC), State Library of NSW , provides access to information about the law in NSW regarding your lawyer Privacy Copyright and Disclaimer Website accessibility View decision -
Kate Veronique Annells
1. Since 1 July 2014, the Practitioner has operated her law practice as an incorporated legal practice (ILP). 2. The Practitioner did not, on behalf of the ILP, provide notice of an intention to commence legal practise …
Reprimand View decision -
Jude Sebastian Fletcher
Client Money, Code of Conduct for Solicitors, REL's & RFL's 2019, Solicitors Accounts Rules 2019, SRA Principles 2019
-
Maria Demosthenous
1. Between May 2016 to 23 September 2025, the Practitioner operated her law practice as an incorporated legal practice. 2. The Practitioner did not, on behalf of the incorporated legal practice, provide notice of an int…
Reprimand View decision -
William Chau
In breach of section 21 of the Legal Practitioners Act 1981, the Practitioner engaged in the profession of law, and held himself out as entitled to practice law, when he did not hold a practising certificate. — Professi…
Reprimand View decision -
Alexander David Edmund Hayes Gallagher
Code of Conduct for Solicitors, REL's & RFL's 2019, Dishonesty, SRA Principles 2019
-
-
Gavin Clarke
Breaches, Client Money, Code of Conduct for Solicitors, REL's & RFL's 2019, SRA Principles 2019
-
Stuart Nuttall
Breaches, Code of Conduct for Solicitors, REL's & RFL's 2019, Dishonesty, Lack of Integrity, SRA Principles 2011, SRA Principles 2019
-
-
-
Michael Peter Goodwin
Breaches, Code of Conduct for Solicitors, REL's & RFL's 2019, SRA Principles 2019
-
Laura Elizabeth Simpson
Breaches, Code of Conduct for Solicitors, REL's & RFL's 2019, SRA Principles 2011, SRA Principles 2019
-
Kerrison, Robert Francis
Lawyer failed to comply with a notice issued pursuant to s 371 of the Legal Profession Uniform Law (Uniform Law), the Lawyer is the subject of unresolved complaints, the Lawyer’s practising certificate was previously su…
Refusal to issue Practising Certificate for the practising period ending 30 June 2026 $0.00 Specified Duration: Manager appointed for a period of 2 years Manager Appointed: Yes Manager Appointed View decision -
David Roger Edwards
The Respondent’s conduct subject of charges 1 and 4 is characterised as professional misconduct.
-
Stephen Brian Simmons
Breaches, Code of Conduct for Solicitors, REL's & RFL's 2019, Dishonesty, Lack of Integrity, SRA Principles 2011, SRA Principles 2019
-
David William McDermott
Breaches, Code of Conduct 2011, Code of Conduct for Solicitors, REL's & RFL's 2019, Dishonesty, Lack of Integrity, SRA Principles 2011, SRA Principles 2019
-
Nguyen, Mai Anh
1. Engaged in legal practice between December 2021 and May 2024 without an Australian Practising Certificate, in contravention of the Legal Profession Uniform Law NSW (Uniform Law) and failed to disclose this in her App…
Refusal of grant of practising certificate $0.00 Disciplinary Action View decision -
Raja Shazad Khan; Ishtiaq Ahmed
Breaches, Code of Conduct for Firms 2019, Dishonesty, Lack of Integrity, Solicitors Accounts Rules 2019, SRA Principles 2019
-
Leo Benedict Michael Foster
Breaches, Lack of Integrity, SRA Principles 2019
-
Respondent AM
Code of Conduct 2011, Code of Conduct for Firms 2019, Code of Conduct for Solicitors, REL's & RFL's 2019, Solicitors Accounts Rules 2011, SRA Authorisation Rules, SRA Principles 2019
-
Matthew Roy Church
Breaches, Code of Conduct for Solicitors, REL's & RFL's 2019, Dishonesty, Lack of Integrity, SRA Principles 2019
-
-
Fordham Mack (Previously Patrick Bernard Lott), Patrick
Stated that he could act as a barrister for a client, when he did not hold a practising certificate, and had no reasonable basis to think that he could act for the client. Took money from the client’s mother to act as c…
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.