LAW firm Hammond Legal has been ordered to alert its clients that they can reclaim fees they have paid the firm.
An administration error in which the firm failed to notify the Western Australian practice board that it was incorporated could cost the firm more than $200,000.
Perth lawyer John Hammond left his previous firm Hammond Worthington in April this year to incorporate a new practice as Hammond Legal.
But a secretary, who had taken time off sick at the time, failed to file the appropriate papers with Western Australia’s legal practice board. Under the state’s Legal Profession Act, it’s illegal for a new firm to set up without notifying the board.
When the firm realised the error when moving offices in June, the board ordered Hammond inform clients they had a right to ask for their fees back.
