LAW COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA 11 June 2002 Ms Jo Lim Chief Policy Officer .au Domain Administration Ltd 107 Faraday Street Carlton VIC 3053 Dear Ms Lim Registration of Interest in Proposal Second Level Domain I write in reference to the call by .au Domain Administration Ltd ('auDA') for registrations of interest in second level domains to be administered by auDA. The proposal submitted by the Law Council of Australia at this time is necessarily a high level registration of interest only and is subject to approval by the Council itself before a more detailed submission can be made as requested in the Call for Proposals published by auDA. However, because of the importance of this issue to the national legal profession, I have included as much information as possible at this stage to enable auDA to give consideration to this initial registration of interest. 1. The Law Council of Australia 1.1 The Law Council of Australia is the peak national body representing the Australian legal profession. Its website is at www.lawcouncil.asn.au. The Law Council was established in 1933 and represents the legal profession at a national level. It acts as an umbrella body for the law societies and bar associations of the States and Territories. In promoting the administration of justice, access to justice and the general improvement of the law, the Law Council acts in the interest of both lawyers and the wider community. It represents the legal profession by speaking on the legal aspects of national and international issues, on federal law and on the operation of federal courts and tribunals. It also advises government, courts and other federal agencies on ways in which the law and the justice system can be improved for the benefit of the community. 2. Name and purpose of the 2LD 2.1 The proposed 2LD is .law.au. 2.2 The 2LD would be available to practising lawyers within Australia, both barristers and solicitors. While many lawyers currently operate using the .com.au domain name, there may be many lawyers currently without a domain name, or who would see benefit in moving to a domain name that identified them as practising lawyers. 3. Intended users of the 2LD 3.1 The users of the 2LD would be restricted to solicitors and barristers with current practising certificates which authorise them to provide legal advice for a fee to members of the public. The Law Council does not envisage that the 2LD would be available to any person with a law qualification but would be limited to practising lawyers. 3.2 The benefit of the restriction is that members of the public requiring services from a lawyer can be assured that a law firm or barrister within the 2LD domain is a person qualified and certificated to provide legal services to the public. 4. Estimate number of potential registrants 4.1 While no accurate statistics are available of the number of practising lawyers in Australia, the Law Council's best estimate is that there are approximately 36,000 practicing lawyers. 5. Funding model 5.1 Law Council has not yet adopted a funding model. This will require consultation with Council members and the assistance of an external adviser to develop a suitable process. Further information will be provided on this aspect when a full proposal is accepted by the Council. 6. Statement addressing selection criteria 6.1 It is the view of Law Council that a 2LD domain of .law.au will be attractive both to the legal profession and to the wider community. It can be used as a branding exercise to differentiate practising lawyers and the services they offer. It also provides some comfort to consumers in assisting with identification of accredited practising lawyers. 6.2 The Law Council has been developing various strategies to assist practitioners to operate more effectively in an online environment. These strategies include the investigation of a national online database that lists all practising lawyers. In the past few years the legal profession across Australia has encouraged changes to legislation that permit the introduction of a so-called 'national practising certificate'. As the profession is regulated on a State and Territory basis, the legislative changes have been undertaken by agreement to ensure national operation. A national register of lawyers supports this development in that courts and consumers alike will be able to consult the database to ensure that the credentials of a lawyer appearing in court or providing advice outside that lawyer's home jurisdiction can be verified. 6.3 In addition, the Law Council is co-operating with the Council of Chief Justices to develop protocols for the online lodgement of court documents. These strategies would be complemented by a 2LD which identifies the profession collectively. 6.4 Law Council will be in a position to provide evidence of support once the proposal has been put to a meeting of Council and approved by the constituent bodies of the Law Council. 7. Why the 2LD should be closed 7.1 Given the stated purpose of the proposed domain name, it would be misleading to permit non-practising lawyers to use the domain. By limiting the domain to practising lawyers the Law Council, in effect, is certifying that a user of the domain: (a) is admitted to practise in a court of law in Australia; (b) is the holder of a current practising certificate issued by the relevant regulatory body in a State or Territory; (c) holds current professional indemnity insurance; and (d) contributes to a fidelity fund established for clients of lawyers in the relevant State or Territory. 8. Eligibility criteria 8.1 Determination of the eligibility criteria will be agreed by a meeting of the Council. However, based on this proposal it is intended that a practising lawyer holding a current practising certificate in a State or Territory of Australia would be eligible to apply for a .law.au domain name. 9. Policy rules 9.1 At this stage the Law Council has not developed the relevant policy rules. This will be developed in consultation with constituent body members of the Council. 10. Peak body to manage 2LD 10.1 The Law Council of Australia will manage the proposed domain name. One option is that this may be undertaken with the assistance of an external consultant on a fee for service basis under the supervision of the Law Council as the most cost-effective solution. I appreciate that this proposal is incomplete in some areas. However at this preliminary stage I wanted to alert auDA to the interest of the Law Council in the proposed 2LD, .law.au. Over the coming weeks I will be putting a more detailed proposal to the Council for approval and, if approved, will then be able to lodge the details with you in support of this initial expression of interest. Yours sincerely Tony Abbott President