Northern Territory Consolidated Acts Northern Territory Consolidated Acts(1) For providing professional indemnity insurance, the chief executive officer of the Law Society may, by written notice, require a law practice to give the chief executive officer or an insurer or other person with whom an agreement or arrangement is entered under section 378 specified information within a specified reasonable time about:
(a) the number of people the law practice employs or formerly employed; and
(b) the duties performed by each of those people; and
(c) the gross income received by the law practice from fees in a specified period; and
(d) any claims made against the law practice in relation to any alleged civil liability arising from:
(i) the practice or former practice of the law practice; or
(ii) the administration of any trust or deceased estate of which the law practice is, or formerly was, a trustee, executor or administrator; or
(e) anything else prescribed by the regulations or legal profession rules.
(2) If a law practice that is an Australian legal practitioner who is a sole practitioner, or an incorporated legal practice, fails to comply with the requirement, the practitioner or practice is guilty of an offence.
Maximum penalty: 100 penalty units.
(3) If a law practice that is a law firm or multi-disciplinary partnership fails to comply with the requirement, each principal of the practice is guilty of an offence.
Maximum penalty: 100 penalty units.
(4) It is a defence to a prosecution for an offence against subsection (2) or (3) if the practitioner, practice or principal has a reasonable excuse.
(5) The chief executive officer of the Society is guilty of an offence if the chief executive officer:
(a) discloses information given under subsection (1) ( protected information ) to someone else; or
(b) does something that discloses protected information to someone else and is reckless about whether:
(i) the information is protected information; or
(ii) doing the thing would result in the information being disclosed.
Maximum penalty: 400 penalty units or imprisonment for 2 years.
(6) Subsection (5) does not apply to the disclosure of information:
(a) necessary for arranging professional indemnity insurance to law practices; or
(b) to an insurer or other person with whom an agreement or arrangement is entered under section 378; or
(c) with the prior consent in writing of the law practice; or
(d) to a court or tribunal in the course of legal proceedings; or
(e) under an order of a court or tribunal under another Act or law; or
(f) to the extent the disclosure is reasonably required to enable the enforcement or investigation of the criminal law.