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 50 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 · current · archived copy · official source ↗
Cayman Islands Legal Services Code 2026 no clear equivalent
AU Solicitors Solicitors' Conduct Rules Rule 32.1 strong 196 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 41 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 11 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
522 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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Dipakkumar Gopaldas Lakhani
Breaches, Client Money, Failures, Solicitors' Accounts Rules, Others
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Raphael Bishop
Fined | Disciplinary Committee decision delivered September 23, 1999. View PDF DECISION OF THE DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE OF THE GENERAL LEGAL COUNCIL COMPLAINT NO. 20/95 MICHAEL HARVEY GLAZER AND BARBARA JEAN DELMAR Execut…
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Richard A. Williams
Restitution ordered, Fined | Disciplinary Committee decision delivered April 30, 1999. View PDF DECISION OF THE DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE OF THE GENERAL LEGAL COUNCIL COMPLAINT NO. 87/97 EMMA CHRISTIE v RICHARD WILLIAMS PA…
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Leeland T. Playfair
Struck off, Restitution ordered | Disciplinary Committee decision delivered October 24, 1997. View PDF Decision of the Disciplinary Committee of the General Legal Council Complaint No. 199/94 Gloria Reid v Leeland Playf…
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M. Melbourne Silvera
Suspended, Restitution Ordered | Disciplinary Committee decision delivered May 02, 1997. View PDF FORMAL ORDER OF THE DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE OF THE GENERAL LEGAL COUNCIL MADE ON COMPLAINTNO. 225 of 1991 IN THE MATTER OF…
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Denis A. G. Tomlinson
Suspended, Restitution Ordered | Disciplinary Committee decision delivered November 09, 1996. View PDF FORMAL ORDER OF THE DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE OF THE GENERAL LEGAL COUNCIL MADE ON COMPLAINT NO. 08 of 1995 IN THE MATT…
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Richard A. Williams
Fined | Disciplinary Committee decision delivered September 14, 1996. View PDF FORMAL ORDER OF THE DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE OF THE GENERAL LEGAL COUNCIL MADE ON COMPLAINT NO. 33 of 1994 IN THE MATTER OF STEADMAN KELLY VS …
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Pauline Simpson
Fined, Restitution ordered | Disciplinary Committee decision delivered February 17, 1996. View PDF DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE OF THE GENERAL LEGAL COUNCIL ORDER COMPLAINT NO. 70/93 In the matter of William Scott andPauline …
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Charles Vincent Rowe
Client Money, Solicitors' Accounts Rules
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Leeland T. Playfair
Severely Reprimanded | Disciplinary Committee decision delivered February 27, 1995. View PDF DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE OF THE GENERAL LEGAL COUNCIL ORDER COMPLAINANT NO. 2458 In the matter of Chairman G.L.C. and Leeland Pl…
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Anthony Brydon Parker
Delays, Failures, Solicitors' Accounts Rules, Others
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Louis E.A. Forde
Struck off, Restitution ordered | Disciplinary Committee decision delivered February 16, 1985. View PDF DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE OF THE GENERAL LEGAL COUNCIL ORDER Complaint No. 31/1978 Kenman Davis - ComplainantL.E.A. Fo…
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A E Ozuzu, E D Ogbuehi & Another
Breaches, Failures, Solicitors' Accounts Rules
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Michael Azuka Otobo
Breaches, Failures, Others
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Lesley Marianna Alberici
Breaches, Failures, Others, Solicitors' Accounts Rules
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R G Simkin & Z M Sharif
Breaches, Others
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John Francis Healy
Guilty of unsatisfactory professional misconduct in relation to Charge 1 & 2
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Peter Clark
Guilty of Professional Misconduct
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Mark Raymond Donnelly
The conduct the subject of charges 4, 5 and 6 of the discipline application filed 20 December 2024 constitutes professional misconduct
Reprimand; Pecuniary Penalty; Restriction on grant of practising cert.; Undertake Trust Accounting Course; Undertake Practice Management Course 1 PDF View decision -
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Colin Philip Henry Murray
The Respondent’s conduct in relation to charge 1 is proved and is found to constitute professional misconduct.
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Bradley Munt
Guilty of professional misconduct with respect to charges 1, 6, 10, 12, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26 and 28. Guilty of professional misconduct with respect to charges 2, 5, 9, 11, 15, 17, 19, 21, 23, 25, 27. Guilty of unsatis…
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.