According to the Bar Council Ruling 7.03, if an Advocate and Solicitor shares an office or premises with another person, the office or premises must be partitioned off with separate and distinct entrances. There should not exist a connecting door between the 2 offices or premises.
However, this ruling will not apply to the following:
(a) Advocates and Solicitors of the same law firm; or
(b) an Advocate and Solicitor, or a partner or partners of his/her firm who has/have an interest in the Person, and the Person carries on such business as is permitted under Ruling 5.13A; or
(c) a law firm that is part of an international partnership that has been granted a licence under section 40F of the Legal Profession Act 1976;
(d) a law firm that is part of a Group Law Practice established under the Legal Profession (Group Law Practice) Rules 2018; or
(e) a law firm that is operating a virtual office;
this is subjected to, at all times, the duty of confidentiality in respect of privileged information owed to their respective clients. In short, arrangements should be made with the client’s confidentiality in mind.
