The duty in context
Cooperate openly with regulators profession
The lawyer must deal with regulators, ombudsmen and oversight bodies openly, honestly and in a timely way, respond fully to proper requests, and permit inspection of records.
How the codes express this duty
E&W Solicitors SRA Principles & Code CCS 7.3; CCS 7.4 strong 195 cases
7.3 You cooperate with the SRA, other regulators, ombudsmen, and those bodies with a role overseeing and supervising the delivery of, or investigating concerns in relation to, legal services. 7.4 You respond promptly to the SRA and: (a) provide full and accurate explanations, information and documents in response to any request or requirement; and (b) ensure that relevant information which is held by you ... is available for inspection by the SRA.
SRA Code of Conduct for Solicitors, RELs and RFLs · 2019 · archived copy · official source ↗
E&W Barristers BSB Handbook CD9; gC2A; rC64; rC70; rC71 strong 52 cases
CD9 You must be open and co-operative with your regulators. gC2A includes all relevant regulators and ombudsman schemes. rC64 requires prompt provision of information to the BSB. rC70 requires reasonable inspection access. rC71 requires all reasonable assistance requested by the Legal Ombudsman.
BSB Handbook Part 2: Code of Conduct · 5.0 · archived copy · official source ↗
Cayman Islands Legal Services Code 2026 P.9; R.13.1(a); R.13.2 strong
Attorneys-at-law shall deal with their regulators in an open, timely and cooperative manner... shall co-operate with the Council by responding to proper and reasonable requests for information in an open, honest and timely manner
Cayman Islands Legal Services Code of Professional Conduct · 2026 · archived copy
AU Solicitors Solicitors' Conduct Rules Rule 43.1 strong 18 cases
Subject only to his or her duty to the client, a solicitor must be timely, open, and frank in his or her dealings with a regulatory authority.
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 Ch6 — Legal Services Regulatory Authority; Law Society of Ireland strong 3 cases
A solicitor should reply promptly and, in any event, within the time permitted, to correspondence received from the LSRA... A solicitor should attend meetings of the LSRA if requested to do so, unless excused beforehand... A solicitor should reply promptly to correspondence from the Regulation Department of 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 2.20; Rule 2.3(i) strong 3 cases
It is the duty of Barristers to cooperate with any such investigation in a timely manner whether by way of furnishing comment or information or by attending before the Council and/or the PPC ... and/or the Appeal Panel when asked to do so. Failure to comply with this duty of co-operation shall be professional misconduct and/or a breach of this Code.
Code of Conduct for the Bar of Ireland · 2024 · archived copy · official source ↗
JM Attorneys Canons of Professional Ethics no clear equivalent
JE Lawyers Law Society of Jersey Code P.9; R.12.1 a) strong
Members must deal with their regulators in an open, timely and cooperative manner... All members must: a) co-operate with the Law Society by responding to proper and reasonable requests for information in an open, honest and timely manner.
Law Society of Jersey Code of Conduct · 1 January 2017 · archived copy · official source ↗
ON Lawyers LSO Rules of Prof. Conduct r 7.1-1 strong
A lawyer shall reply promptly and completely to any communication from the Law Society in which a response is requested.
Law Society of Ontario — Rules of Professional Conduct · current · archived copy · official source ↗
BC Lawyers BC Code r 7.1-1 strong 3 cases
A lawyer must (a) reply promptly and completely to any communication from the Society; (b) provide documents as required to the Law Society; (c) not improperly obstruct or delay Law Society investigations, audits and inquiries; (d) cooperate with Law Society investigations, audits and inquiries involving the lawyer or a member of the lawyer's firm;
Code of Professional Conduct for British Columbia (BC Code) · 2017 · archived copy · official source ↗
NZ Lawyers Conduct & Client Care Rules r 10.14 strong
A lawyer must— (a) respond to inquiries from the Law Society respectfully and in a timely manner; and (b) act in a way that does not obstruct or hinder the regulatory functions of the Law Society.
Lawyers and Conveyancers Act (Lawyers: Conduct and Client Care) Rules 2008 · SR 2008/214 · archived copy · official source ↗
SCO Solicitors LSS Standards of Conduct B1.16; B1.17 strong 13 cases
B1.16: Duty to Co-operate with the Society — Practice rule imposing duty to Co-operate with the Society. B1.17: Duty to Co-operate with the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission (the 'Commission') — Practice rule on duty to co-operate with the SLCC.
Law Society of Scotland — Practice Rules 2011, Rule B1 (Standards of Conduct) · 2011 · archived copy · official source ↗
SG Lawyers Professional Conduct Rules 2015 no clear equivalent
HK Solicitors Solicitors' Guide Principle 6.04 strong
A solicitor is obliged to reply fully and promptly to correspondence from a client or former client or on their behalf, and to inquiries from the Law Society or other competent authority.
Hong Kong Solicitors' Guide to Professional Conduct (Volume 1) · current · archived copy · official source ↗
HK Barristers Bar Code of Conduct para 4.7 strong
any barrister or pupil must respond promptly to any request from the Bar Council or the Discipline Committee for comments or information on the matter whether it relates to him or to another barrister or pupil.
Code of Conduct of the Bar of the Hong Kong SAR · 2018 · archived copy · official source ↗
Cases dealing with this duty
285 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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Robert John Metcalfe
Breaches, Failures, Solicitors' Accounts Rules
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Michael Usher
Breaches, Failures
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David Marriott
Criminal Convictions
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Nicholas Paul Tsioupras
Breaches, Client Money, Failures, Solicitors' Accounts Rules
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Christopher Ka Ki Cheng
Breaches, Failures
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Astrid Halberstadt-Twum & Joseph Twum
Criminal Convictions
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Victoria Kinsella & One Other & One Other
Breaches, Solicitors' Accounts Rules
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John Knight & Second Respondent & Third Respondent
Breaches, Client Money, Solicitors' Accounts Rules
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Timothy Peter Ackrel
Breaches
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Roger Paul Jackson & Second Respondent & Third Respondent
Breaches, Failures
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Shohaab Dar
Breaches, Failures, Solicitors' Accounts Rules
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Crisp, Glenn Brian
1. Failure to notify Law Society of a show cause event 2. Failure to cooperate with the Law Society investigation of the show cause event — Unsatisfactory Professional Conduct
Reprimand $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 -
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Gary Ackinclose
Breaches
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Michael Kenneth Smith
Breaches, Failures
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David Kingsley Wedge
Breaches
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Bina Maistry
Breaches
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Kwame Agyekum Siaw
Breaches, Solicitors' Accounts Rules
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Edward Sibley
Breaches, Client Money, Solicitors' Accounts Rules
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Kuldip Singh
Breaches, Client Money, Failures, Solicitors' Accounts Rules
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Vidal Eulalie Martin
Breaches, Client Money, Failures, Solicitors' Accounts Rules
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Michael David Schwartz
Breaches
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Kessar Nabi
Breaches, Client Money, Failures, Solicitors' Accounts Rules
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Shearman, David
1. Contravened condition of practising certificate 2. Failure to respond to correspondence from the Law Society of NSW — Unsatisfactory Professional Conduct
Reprimand $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
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.