High Court Registry closure

The High Court Registry will be closed from 4.00pm on Wednesday, 24 December 2025 and will re-open at 9:00am on Friday, 2 January 2026.

Any party seeking to file a document due to be filed between 25 December 2025 and 1 January 2026 has an automatic extension of time under the  High Court Rules 2004 (Rule 4.01.5) until 4:00pm AEDT on Friday, 2 January 2026 to file the document. Any documents lodged between 25 December 2025 and 1 January 2026 will be reviewed on 2 January 2026.

All inquiries for the High Court will be considered when the Registry re-opens on Friday, 2 January 2026.If a matter is of extreme urgency, you may telephone 1800 570 566, select Option 1 and leave a voicemail. In addition provide details by email to: registry@hcourt.gov.au.

Kendirjian v Lepore

[2017] HCA 13
Case number
S170/2016
Before
Kiefel CJ, Bell, Gageler, Keane, Nettle, Gordon, Edelman JJ
Catchwords

Legal practitioners – Negligence – Advocates' immunity from suit – Where settlement offer made and rejected on first day of trial – Where rejection of settlement offer followed by judicial decision – Where damages awarded lower than settlement offer – Where solicitor and barrister alleged to have given negligent advice in relation to settlement offer – Whether advice affected conduct of case in court by bearing upon court's determination of case – Whether advocate immune from suit.

High Court – Stare decisis – Whether Attwells v Jackson Lalic Lawyers Pty Ltd (2016) 90 ALJR 572; 331 ALR 1; [2016] HCA 16 should be reopened.

Words and phrases – "advocates' immunity", "affecting the conduct of the case", "finality", "functional connection", "intimately connected", "judicial determination", "possibility of challenge to findings".

Files
13.rtf (203.66 KB)
13.pdf (143.63 KB)