Advocate Practice Organization
What this domain tests
This domain tests how an advocate’s practice is structured and run: permitted forms of practice, client files, retainers, trust money, staff supervision, tax and reporting duties, and business continuity. The focus is lawful organization, not marketing theory.
Core rules
- Advocates may practice through forms permitted by the Law on Advocates and Advocate Activity, such as an advocate office or other statutory formations. The chosen form must be registered and reflected in the advocate register.
- A written retainer should define the scope, fee, expenses, communication rules, and termination. It protects both client and advocate and supports fee recovery.
- Client funds must be kept separately from the advocate’s own funds and disbursed on documented instructions. Commingling creates ethical and accounting risk.
- A conflict-check system, secure file storage, and retention policy are core office controls. Confidential files should not be left with unsupervised staff or unsecured cloud accounts.
- Non-lawyer staff may perform administrative work but must not give legal advice or appear as advocates. The advocate remains responsible for supervision.
Worked example
A sole advocate opens an office and hires an assistant. The assistant begins answering legal questions and quoting fees. The advocate should immediately restrict the assistant to scheduling and document management, introduce a written intake script, and personally handle legal advice and fee agreements. The office should also open a separate client account and adopt a conflict-check form before the first retainer is signed.
Traps that cost marks
Mixing client money with office money; relying on an oral retainer; letting staff give legal advice; and failing to record the practice form in the register.