The High Court of Australia in Attwells v Jackson Lalic Lawyers Pty Limited has unanimously declined to reconsider its previous decisions in Giannarelli v Wraith and D’Orta-Ekenaike v Victoria Legal Aid which stated that, at common law, an advocate could not be sued by his or her client for negligence in work done in court, or work done out of court which led to a decision affecting the conduct of the case in court, or work which was intimately connected with work in court.
However, a majority of the High Court held that the advocate’s immunity from suit did not extend to negligent advice which led to the settlement of a case by agreement between the parties because the advice to settle did not contribute to the judicial determination of the proceedings. The circumstance that the settlement was embodied in consent orders made by the court did not alter this conclusion.
The majority’s decision is a rejection of the more expansive view of the scope of the immunity which has been applied by many courts in recent years. Read a detailed summary of the case here.
