Table of Contents Chapter 1: Professional Conduct ........................................................................................ 4 Who is Affected by Professional Conduct obligations ................................................................. 4 What is a Profession ................................................................................................................... 4 Regulation of the Legal Profession Today ................................................................................... 4 Lawyers Practice and Ethics ........................................................................................................ 4 Ethics v Legal Ethics .................................................................................................................... 5 Core Values of the Legal Profession ............................................................................................ 5 Personal Responsibility .............................................................................................................. 5 Reconciling personal and Professional Values ............................................................................ 5 Ethical Dilemmas ........................................................................................................................ 5 Decision Making Process ............................................................................................................ 6 Chapter 2 : Lawyers, Values and Sources ........................................................................... 7 Distinctions between barrister, lawyers, solicitors and attorneys ............................................... 7 The nature of values ................................................................................................................... 7 Values fundamental to the legal profession ................................................................................ 8 Common mistakes made by students in learning skills and values .............................................. 8 Sources of professional responsibility (the law of lawyering) ...................................................... 8 Chapter 3: Ethics And Lawyering ...................................................................................... 10 Lawyers as moral agents and agents of change ......................................................................... 10 The limits of the law of lawyering – recognising values ............................................................. 10 Alternative visions of regulation of the profession ................................................................... 12 Chapter 6: Communication Skills ..................................................................................... 13 Lawyers as skilled helpers and representatives of the legal profession ..................................... 13 The meaning of participatory client-focused interviewing ........................................................ 13 Communication skills ............................................................................................................... 14 Ethics and professional responsibilities in interviewing ............................................................ 14 Choosing clients ....................................................................................................................... 16 Dealing with clients with special needs .................................................................................... 16 Chapter 7: Advocacy ........................................................................................................ 18 Preparing yourself for trial ....................................................................................................... 18 Court basics – court etiquette .................................................................................................. 18 The ethics of advocacy ............................................................................................................. 18 Your ethical responsibilities ..................................................................................................... 18 Chapter 8: Etiquette ........................................................................................................ 20 Borrowed manners: Court etiquette and the modern lawyer ................................................... 20 Chapter 9: Cross-Cultural Communication ....................................................................... 21 Intercultural communication and the language of the law ........................................................ 21 Chapter 10: Aboriginal Clients And Witnesses ................................................................. 23 Evidence, procedure and law .................................................................................................... 23 Chapter 11: Criminal Law Practice – Defending Aboriginal Practice .................................. 25 Things to consider when dealing with Aboriginal people .......................................................... 25 Non-Aboriginal Understanding ................................................................................................. 25 Chapter 13: The Lawyer-Client Relationship .................................................................... 27 1 Creation of lawyer-client relationship ...................................................................................... 27 Authority of lawyers under the retainer ................................................................................... 28 Lawyers’ acceptance of work .................................................................................................... 30 Termination of lawyer-client relationship ................................................................................. 31 Chapter 14: Lawyers’ Duty To Clients In Tort ................................................................... 33 Relationship between contractual and tortious liability ............................................................ 33 Scope of the duty of care .......................................................................................................... 33 Standard of care ....................................................................................................................... 36 In-court immunity from negligence .......................................................................................... 39 Limiting liability – Professional standards regime ..................................................................... 41 Chapter 18: Confidentiality .............................................................................................. 43 Nature of the duty .................................................................................................................... 43 Scope of duty ........................................................................................................................... 43 Limits and exceptions to the duty ............................................................................................. 44 Fulfilling the duty ..................................................................................................................... 46 Chapter 19: Legal Professional Privilege .......................................................................... 47 Nature of the privilege ............................................................................................................. 47 “Purpose” of the communication ............................................................................................. 48 Communications covered by the privilege ................................................................................ 49 Who is entitled to claim privilege? ........................................................................................... 51 Privilege claims in non-judicial proceedings .............................................................................. 52 Abrogation of privilege by statute ............................................................................................ 52 Waiver of privilege ................................................................................................................... 52 Chapter 20: Duty To Account ........................................................................................... 54 The basic obligation ................................................................................................................. 54 “Trust money” .......................................................................................................................... 54 Accounting for trust money ...................................................................................................... 55 Verification of trust accounts ................................................................................................... 58 Failure to account .................................................................................................................... 58 CHAPTER 21: Costs Disclosure and Costs Agreement ....................................................... 60 Costs disclosure and costs agreement ...................................................................................... 60 Costs disclosure requirements .................................................................................................. 60 Costs agreements 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