Attwells v Jackson Lalic: A Shock To Lawyers' Immune Systems

While there were no heroes, villains or shootings in Canberra last Wednesday morning, there was a partial revocation of the immunity from suit previously afforded to solicitors. This was far from a wholesale removal of the immunity, but is a departure from the recent trend towards expanding, rather than contracting, the reach of advocate's immunity.

Advocate's Immunity in the High Court of Australia

Frequent film-goers, and fans of the Lethal Weapon series of movies, may recall a scene from Lethal Weapon 2, set on a ship owned by the villain of the piece. The villain, a member of a foreign embassy, openly commits a heinous crime in full view of the hero, a police officer, played by Mel Gibson. He holds up his passport, saying to the hero "Diplomatic Immunity!" Unfazed by this perplexing legal and diplomatic situation, our hero shoots the villain between the eyes, adding for the audience's benefit:  "It's just been revoked".