More on the Harman Obligation

• Published date: 05 November 2023
• Subject Matter: Litigation, Mediation & Arbitration, Disclosure & Electronic Discovery & Privilege, Court Procedure
• Law Firm: Holman Webb
• Author: Ms Zara Officer

Ndou v Council of Law Society of NSW [2023] NSWCATOD 111

We recently posted an article on the importance of the often forgotten Harman obligation that legal practitioners do not use documents obtained through a compulsory court process for a collateral purpose. The obligation is also known as the Hearn v Street obligation (2008) 235 CLR 125. In our last article, we described a case in which a Supreme Court judge in a civil proceeding declined to give leave for documents that had been produced in those proceedings to be used for another purpose in other proceedings.

This article describes a disciplinary decision about a practitioner who unintentionally breached the Harman obligation. It...