Practising certificate holders who are subject to the statutory condition of supervised legal practice and who are supervised remotely and/or externally for all or part of their practice 

It is important that you comply with the conditions of your practising certificate, including the statutory condition of supervised legal practice (condition 2).  

Failing to comply with this condition can invoke section 54 of the Legal Profession Uniform Law (NSW) (Uniform Law), which attracts a civil penalty. It can also have significant consequences for your ability to practise as a solicitor when we assess your fitness to practice when renewing or granting a practising certificate (see subsection 45(2)-(3) of the Uniform Law and subrule 13 (1)(o) of the Legal Profession Uniform General Rules 2015).

When considering a remote supervision arrangement, practitioners will need to carefully consider whether the arrangements satisfy section 6 of the Legal Profession Uniform Law (NSW) (Uniform Law) and rule 7 of the Legal Profession Uniform General Rules 2015 (NSW) (General Rules). You may be asked to provide a copy of a supervision plan in any future application for the removal of condition 2 from your practising certificate.

A failure to consider the requirements of the Uniform Law when being supervised for your legal practice may result in an application for condition 2 from your practising certificate being denied.

To assist and protect both supervised and supervising practitioners in meeting their obligations under the Uniform Law, the following matters are suggested to be contemplated when entering into a remote supervision plan: 

• Details as to the relationship, experience and role of the supervisor/supervisee;
• How risk management strategies will be affected (e.g. confidentiality, conflicts of interest, client retainers/cost disclosure, complaint procedures, onboarding of clients, file opening/closing procedures, etc);
• Carefully consider any conflicts that arise as a result of any remote and/or external supervision plan; 
• How regular meetings between the supervisor and supervisee will be effected (e.g. by way of teleconference or an online video platform);
• How the supervisor will be available for contact at all other times with an “open door policy” (e.g. by way of daily contact, email, telephone, an online video and message platform, etc);
• How the supervisor will affect workflow management and have authority over and be aware of all legal work/instructions/critical dates (e.g. by way of cc’ing the supervisor on legal work, shared calendar system, etc);
• How the supervisor will review and approve or provide feedback for all legal work prior to emission, and may include dialling into meetings where advice may be furnished;
• How file and document sharing logistics will be managed (e.g. email, shared system, post, safe custody, file notes, etc); 
• How the supervisor will conduct regular file reviews; and
• How the Law Society of NSW will be notified of any changes in the supervision arrangements.

When the supervisor and supervisee are employed by the same law practice/entity and work flexibly

Practitioners subject to the statutory condition of supervised legal practice (condition 2) and who work flexibly should consider an internal remote supervision plan with their supervisor. Such plans do not need to be submitted to the Law Society for consideration. We do, however, encourage practitioners to retain a copy of this plan for any future application to remove condition 2 from their practising certificate. You must ensure and be satisfied that you are complying with the statutory condition of supervision.

Where a supervisor and supervisee are employed by the same law practice/entity and practise exclusively remotely

Where a practitioner seeks to be supervised exclusively remotely they should enter into a remote supervision plan with their supervisor and maintain a copy of that plan. The Law Society does not approve or endorse remote supervision plans. You must ensure and be satisfied that you are complying with the statutory condition of supervision.

If your supervisor is located in another Australian jurisdiction and holds an interstate Australian practising certificate, you should ensure that your supervisor holds a practising certificate authorising them to supervise the legal practice of others. It is ultimately your responsibility to ensure that you comply with the statutory condition of your practising certificate.

Where a supervisee and supervisor are employed by different law practices or entities

If your practising certificate is subject to condition 2 and your supervisor is employed by a different law practice or entity, then you and your supervisor should have careful consideration as to how those arrangements comply with section 6 of the Uniform Law and rule 7 of the General Rules.

Supervisors and supervisees should also consider the Legal Profession Uniform Law Australian Solicitors’ Conduct Rules 2015, particularly rules 9 and 10 with respect to confidentiality and conflicts.

You may wish to contact the Law Society’s Professional Support Unit who provides free and confidential guidance to solicitors in the areas of ethics and regulatory compliance at regulatory.compliance@lawsociety.com.au.