Unveiling Misconduct: A Call for Reform and Royal Commission into NSW Regulatory Bodies

Background

In June 2025, we issued a public notice and formal correspondence to the Office of the NSW Premier, Chris Minns, raising serious concerns regarding alleged unlawful and corrupt conduct by legal regulatory bodies and public officials in New South Wales.

Those concerns point to systemic failures within the institutions responsible for regulating the legal profession, including the Law Society of NSW, its Professional Standards Department (PSD) and Council, and the Office of the Legal Services Commissioner (OLSC).

This post publishes and contextualises that correspondence and explains why the issues raised demand urgent reform and the establishment of a Royal Commission to restore public trust, protect the integrity of the legal profession, and uphold the rule of law.

NSW Parliament House, symbolising governance and legal oversight

Notice to the NSW Premier, Chris Minns

On 17 June 2025, the NSW Premier was formally provided with two detailed correspondences (dated 16 and 17 June 2025) calling on his leadership to initiate a Royal Commission into the conduct of identified regulatory officers, councillors of the Law Society of NSW, and associated public officials.

• Letter dated 17 June 2025:

Ms Odtojan and Mr Bryl's Letter to NSW Premier, Chris Minns dated 17 June 2025 (Cover letter)

• Letter dated 16 June 2025:

Ms Odtojan and Mr Bryl's Letter to NSW Premier, Chris Minns dated 16 June 2025 attached to the above cover letter dated 17 June 2025.

Since 2016, Ms Odtojan has made multiple reports of serious improprieties and misconduct to NSW regulatory bodies charged with overseeing solicitors. It is alleged that:

• Those reports were concealed or ignored;

• Individuals reported were protected, not investigated;

• The reporting solicitors, instead, became targets of retaliation.

Rather than being protected as witnesses and complainants, Ms Odtojan and Mr Bryl faced adverse regulatory actions for exercising their legal rights, accessing the courts, and making reports. (See: The Undocumented Truth in Odtojan v Ford, Glynn and Condon SC )

Key Issues Raised with the Premier

The correspondence to the NSW Premier identified, among other matters:

• Interference with solicitors’ practising rights, public registry data, and memberships without lawful foundation

• Rendering two lawyers “unfit” outside the mandatory Chapter 5 disciplinary process, which requires due process and determination by NCAT

• The creation and repetition of false narratives of “alleged prior misconduct” and “alleged prior conduct” categories that do not exist under the Legal Profession Uniform Law

• Allegations involving senior regulatory officers and councillors of the Law Society of NSW

• Involvement of NSW Attorney General Michael Daley, NSW MP Hugh McDermott, and Legal Services Commissioner Samantha Gulliver

  
  

These actions have caused profound harm to two solicitors and their law practice, and pose a wider threat to the integrity of the legal system and public safety.

Regulatory Bodies and Systemic Failures

The Law Society of NSW and the OLSC are entrusted with protecting the public interest and ensuring ethical conduct within the legal profession. However, the allegations disclose that these bodies have:

• Failed to investigate or process complaints in accordance with the Uniform Law

• Concealed serious allegations rather than addressing them transparently

• Misused regulatory powers to fabricate or repeat allegations

• Bypassed the statutory safeguards embedded in Chapter 5

• Undermined Parliamentary reporting and accountability mechanisms

  
  

These failures erode confidence not only in regulators, but in the legal profession itself.

Broader Impact on Public Trust

The consequences extend far beyond individual lawyers:

• Solicitors face reputational and financial destruction without due process

• Clients lose faith in the fairness and reliability of the justice system

• The rule of law is weakened when regulators act outside the law

• Society becomes less safe when misconduct is shielded rather than exposed

  
  

When regulators act unlawfully, justice becomes selective.

Why a Royal Commission Is Necessary

Given the gravity and duration of these issues, the notice to the NSW Premier calls for:

• A fully independent Royal Commission into NSW legal regulators and public officials

• Structural reform of the Law Society of NSW and the OLSC

• Enforceable safeguards to prevent abuse of regulatory power

• Transparent Parliamentary oversight of disciplinary processes

• Consideration of whether lawyers require independent collective protection

• Exploration of AI oversight mechanisms to prevent false records, fabricated findings, and judicial misrepresentation

  
  

Had such safeguards existed, false records, including the invention of contracts never produced in evidence, could not have been perpetuated through the courts for nearly a decade, originating in the Local Court judgment of Magistrate Sharon Freund.

Specific Public Officials Identified

The notice raises concerns regarding the conduct of:

• Michael Daley, NSW Attorney General and responsible Minister for the Uniform Law

• Hugh McDermott MP, involved in promoting narratives of “alleged prior misconduct”

• Samantha Gulliver, Legal Services Commissioner, alleged to have bypassed Uniform Law Chapter 5 processes

These individuals are alleged to have enabled or participated in actions that suppressed reports, bypassed lawful procedures, and targeted solicitors without due process.

Why This Matters to Everyone

This is not a “lawyers’ issue.” It affects every person who relies on the legal system and the profession.

When regulators fail:

• Corruption flourishes

• Power replaces law

• Accountability disappears

• Public confidence collapses

  
  

A legal system that cannot regulate itself lawfully cannot protect the public.

Moving Forward

Meaningful reform requires:

• Public support for a Royal Commission

• Legislative reform to restore lawful regulation

• Transparency in disciplinary processes

• Public awareness of the dangers of unchecked regulatory power

  
  

Only through accountability can NSW restore trust, uphold the rule of law, and ensure justice is administered according to law, not power.

Disclaimer: This notice is a public interest disclosure, public awareness, and education. Based on the lived experience of lawyers Marie Odtojan and Artem Bryl, witnesses, victims, and whistleblowers who acted lawfully. This post is subject to change where corrections, amendments, or additional information may be required. For queries, please contact: oblawyers.media@gmail.com