Lawyers, Ethics and Society

Course aim

The aim of this course are threefold: first, to ensure that students know the legal and ethical responsibilities of a professional lawyer; secondly, to ensure that students have an understanding of how to react to particular professional and ethical situations that might arise in the future; and thirdly, to facilitate legal career development planning.

Course content

The focus of this course is on the professional conduct responsibilities of legal practitioners in South Australia and on preparing students for admission to the profession. This requires understanding of:

The Nature of the Legal Profession

What is a profession?

The professional responsibilities of lawyers

The source of these responsibilities

The role of Lawyers in society

The Regulation of the Legal Profession

The structure of the profession and the regulatory framework

Career Development – Preparing for Legal Practice 

Discipline and Standards of Conduct

Legal and Ethical standards

Removal from the profession


Duties Owed to the Client

Avoiding conflicts of interest

Confidentiality and Privilege

Competence and Care

Duties to the Court and the Administration of Justice

Not misleading the court; undertakings

Where a client confesses guilt

Duties of Prosecutors

Duties to fellow practitioners

Dealing with client funds

Duties in relation to the management of trust accounts

Textbook(s)

Parker C & Evans A 2014, Inside Lawyers' Ethics , 2nd ed, Cambridge University Press, Port Melbourne, VIC

Prerequisite(s)

Corequisite(s)

Nil

Teaching method

Note: These components may or may not be scheduled in every study period. Please refer to the timetable for further details.

Assessment

Examination, Online activities

Fees

EFTSL*: 0.125
Commonwealth Supported program (Band 3)
To determine the fee for this course as part of a Commonwealth Supported program, go to:
How to determine your Commonwealth Supported course fee. (Opens new window)

Fee-paying program for domestic and international students
International students and students undertaking this course as part of a postgraduate fee paying program must refer to the relevant program home page to determine the cost for undertaking this course.

Non-award enrolment
Non-award tuition fees are set by the university. To determine the cost of this course, go to:
How to determine the relevant non award tuition fee. (Opens new window)

Not all courses are available on all of the above bases, and students must check to ensure that they are permitted to enrol in a particular course.

* Equivalent Full Time Study Load. Please note: all EFTSL values are published and calculated at ten decimal places. Values are displayed to three decimal places for ease of interpretation.