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The Law Society of New South Wales Professional Standards Scheme is an exclusive membership benefit for those in private practice. The Scheme limits damages payable from a single cause of action that a participating member of the Scheme may be required to pay if a court upholds a claim against them.

The Scheme is a legal instrument as approved by the Professional Standards Councils and established pursuant to the Professional Standards Act 1994 (NSW) (the Act). Subject to the provisions of the Act and instrument, the Scheme extends to Solicitor Members, Life Members and Incorporated Legal Practice (ILP) Members engaging in private practice who are not excluded or exempted from the Scheme.

The Scheme is intended to operate so to limit the damages of participating Scheme members arising from a single cause of action to an amount of $1.5 million, $10 million, or to a specified higher maximum amount than would otherwise apply, depending on:

  1. The limit of Professional Indemnity Insurance held by the law practice
  2. The total revenue and the number of principals of the law practice, and
  3. the extent that liability can be limited under the Act.

The Professional Standards Regulations 2019 (NSW) prescribes the following form of disclosure notification for participating members of the Scheme:

Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation.

Detailed information about the Scheme can be found in our factsheet here.

How to apply

The current Scheme period runs from 22 November 2022 to 21 November 2023. On 22 November 2023, the upcoming Scheme period will commence.

To take advantage of this exclusive membership benefit, principals must:

  1. ensure all their legal practitioners are Solicitor Members, and
  2. register those members as participants of the Scheme. Please contact our Scheme team using the details provided below to register.

Cost

An annual participation fee of $105 is payable for each Solicitor Member or Life Member, and $50 for each ILP Member.

Contact us

If you would like any assistance or more information about the Scheme, please call one of our friendly Scheme Administration Team members on (02) 9926 0189 or email us at [email protected]