Western Australian Numbered Acts Western Australian Numbered Acts (1) Subject to
subsections (5) and (6), a legal practitioner must not take, have or
retain an articled clerk unless that legal practitioner is —
(a) of
not less than 2 years’ standing as a legal practitioner;
(b) an
individual practising on his or her own account in this State or a
legal practitioner director; and
(c)
approved to take, have and retain an articled clerk by the Board.
(2) The Board may, but
is not required to, hold an inquiry as to whether a legal practitioner should
be approved under subsection (1)(c).
(3) Section 41 applies
to an inquiry under subsection (2) as if the inquiry were held under
Part 5.
(4) The Board may
revoke an approval under subsection (1)(c) at any time.
(5) The Board may, by
notice in writing and subject to such conditions as are specified in the
notice, permit a person to be articled to a legal practitioner even though the
legal practitioner is of less than 2 years’ standing as a
legal practitioner or practises otherwise than on his or her own account or as
a legal practitioner director.
(6) A
legal practitioner who —
(a) is
the State Solicitor of this State;
(b) is
the Director of Legal Aid appointed under section 18 of the
Legal Aid Commission Act 1976 ;
(c) is
the Director of Public Prosecutions appointed under section 5 of the
Director of Public Prosecutions Act 1991 ;
(d) is
the person acting in this State as a Director of the Australian Government
Solicitor within the meaning of the Judiciary Act 1903 of the
Commonwealth; or
(e) is
the Regional General Counsel of the Australian Securities and Investments
Commission in Western Australia,
may take, have and
retain one or more articled clerks.
(7) No person, other
than an individual referred to in subsection (6), may take, have or
retain more than 2 articled clerks at any one time unless that person has the
approval of the Board.
(8) If —
(a) a
legal practitioner ceases to be a person practising on his or her own account
or to be a legal practitioner director; or
(b) a
person is a disqualified person,
that person must not
take, have or retain an articled clerk.
(9) A person aggrieved
by a decision of the Board to refuse to approve a legal practitioner under
subsection (1)(c), or to revoke an approval under subsection (4),
may appeal to the Supreme Court.