LawsOcAct.asn.au
Title
The Law Society of the Australian Capital Territory
Description
Protect the public interest in the ACT system of justice through the efficient regulation of the profession in accordance with the Legal Practitioners Act and the Society's Professional Conduct Rules.
The Law Society of the Territory for the Seat of Government was formed in 1933 towards the end of the Great Depression, when Canberra itself was struggling to survive. There were seven members. The Society owes its genesis in the Queanbeyan based practitioners who moved 'out to' Canberra during the 1920's. In 1940 the name was changed to the 'Law Society of the Australian Capital Territory'. After a slow beginning, the post World War II years were a period of expansion, especially in the 1960s with the accelerated relocation of the Commonwealth public service to Canberra.
With the growth of the population, and consequently the profession, came the need for a modern regulatory system similar to the surrounding State of New South Wales. In 1970 the Commonwealth Government passed the ACT Legal Practitioners Ordinance, which since self government, has been called the Legal Practitioners Act. The Act gives the Society general powers to regulate the Territory's legal profession. We exercise these powers in consultation with or with the approval of the ACT Attorney General.
