Lawyers, Ethics and Society

Course aim

The aim of this course are threefold: firstly 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)

Ross Y 2010, Ethics in Law - Lawyer's Responsibility and Accountability in Australia, 5th, Butterworths, Sydney

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

In class test, Problem solving assignment: submission of 2 exercises, Written assignment: policy-based

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.