Addressing the annual Australian Bar Association dinner in Canberra, Justice Geoffrey Nettle raised concerns about how the profit impotus placed on listed firms might impede upon servicing the best interests of clients. While some argue that traditional law firms became money-making ventures long before the listed firm model came along, the obstacles that have swung into the paths of listed Australian rivals Slater & Gordon and Shine Lawyers over the last 12 months have reignited debate in the legal community as to the viability of the model. Public investors in both firms have suffered share price drops of between 80 and 90 per cent. Now, there is widespread concern that recovery efforts may bring to the fore an inherent conflict of interest between clients and shareholders that the listed firm model has sought to dismiss. Slater & Gordon articulated in its 2007 prospectus that 'the duty to the client will prevail over the duty to the shareholder' in the advent of any confict. With the firm now potentially staring down insolvency, however, there is fresh doubt as to whether clients really can be protected from the pain of either collapse or the hard road to recovery. Though audience members have relayed the details of Justice Nettle's speech, his exact comments on the issue remain unconfirmed as a transcript has not been made available. Source: Australian Financial Review