- Legal Professional Conduct Summary Notes!

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Table of Contents for Legal Professional Conduct Summary Notes

1.  Introduction. 4

A.   How to use Cram Notes. 4

B.   Abbreviations. 5

2.  Ethical Problems in Legal Representation. 5

A.   Moral issues. 5

B.   Ethical discretion.. 6

C.   Ethics of care. 6

3.  Regulation of the Legal Profession. 7

A.   Self-regulation.. 7

i.        Advantages. 7

ii.       Disadvantages. 7

B.   Involvement of non-lawyers. 7

i.        Advantages. 7

ii.       Disadvantages. 8

C.   Professional associations. 8

i.        Advantages. 8

ii.       Disadvantages. 8

D.   Government 8

4.  Admission as a Legal Practitioner. 9

A.   Eligibility & suitability. 9

i.        Eligibility. 9

ii.       Suitability. 9

B.   Dishonesty. 10

C.   Political activity. 11

D.   Re-admission.. 11

5.  Disciplinary Process for Legal Practitioners. 12

A.   Common features. 12

B.   Inherent power of the courts. 12

i.        Contempt of court 12

C.   Unsatisfactory professional conduct 13

D.   Professional misconduct 13

E.   Common categories of misconduct 13

i.        Unreasonable delay. 14

F.    Conduct outside professional practice. 14

6.  Lawyer-Client Communication. 15

A.   Indigenous Australian clients. 15

B.   Inexperienced counsel 15

7.  Lawyer¡¦s Fees & Costs. 15

A.   Disclosure. 15

B.   Consequences of failure to disclose. 16

C.   Fee Arrangements. 16

D.   Professional misconduct relating to costs. 16

8.  Legal Representation ¡V Duty to Accept Work & Obey Instructions. 17

A.   Barristers ¡V Cab rank. 17

i.        Right to refuse brief 17

B.   Solicitors. 18

C.   Reasonable prospects of success. 18

D.   Duty to Continue to Act/Termination of Retainer 18

i.        Barrister 18

ii.       Solicitor 19

E.   Duty to Obey Client Instructions. 19

9.  Legal Representation ¡V Is the Client of Sufficient Legal Capacity? 20

A.   Undue influence. 20

B.   Children clients. 20

i.        The role of the Separate Representative: 21

ii.       Sterilization procedure. 21

C.   Client capacity guidelines. 21

10.      Legal Representation ¡V Duty of Care & Competence 22

A.   Liability in Negligence, Contract & Advocates¡¦ Immunity. 22

i.        Standard of care. 22

ii.       Was the duty breached?. 22

iii.      Causation ¡V would client have acted differently?. 23

iv.      Development of the Immunity Doctrine. 23

B.   Liability to Third Parties. 24

i.        Duties owed to Parties. 24

ii.       Duty Owed To Third Parties (Non-Clients) 25

11.      Legal Representation ¡V Lawyer-Client Conflicts. 25

A.   Fiduciary duties. 25

B.   Lawyer-Client Conflicts. 25

C.   Lawyer as a Witness. 26

D.   Confidentiality. 27

12.      Legal Representation ¡V Legal Professional Privilege 28

A.   Legal Professional Privilege. 28

B.   Dominant purpose test 28

C.   Abrogation by statute. 29

13.      Legal Representation ¡V Client-Client Conflicts. 29

A.   Concurrent Client-Client Conflicts. 29

i.        Contentious/litigious work. 29

ii.       Non-contentious work. 30

B.   Successive client-client conflicts. 30

C.   Chinese walls. 31

14.      Negotiation Skills and Ethics. 31

A.   Transactional Negotiation.. 32

B.   Negotiation as a dispute resolution process. 32

C.   Conditions which must be satisfied for negotiations to take place. 32

D.   Approaches to Negotiation.. 32

E.   Assessing proposed options. 33

F.    Possible outcomes. 33

G.   Relaying false information.. 33

H.   Misleading and Deceptive conduct 34

i.        Mere silence. 34

I.    Solicitor as an active participant 34

J.    Solicitor as an passive bystander 34

15.      Access to justice & the Legal Aid System.. 35

A.   Legal Aid and the Right to Representation.. 35

i.        Legal Aid. 35

ii.       Right to Representation. 35

1)     Problems in applying the Dietrich principle of providing adequate representation  36

B.   Unrepresented party. 36

C.   Pro bono.. 37

16.      Fairness & Candour in the Adversarial System.. 37

A.   Excessive Adversarialism... 37

B.   Hopeless Cases. 37

C.   The role of the advocate. 37

D.   Inference with witnesses. 38

E.   Rudeness and discourtesy. 38

F.    Duty of Candour 39

G.   The giving of undertakings. 39

17.      Duties of Prosecutors & Defence Lawyers in Criminal Trials. 40

A.   Guilty Pleas. 40

B.   Prosecutor¡¦s duties. 40

C.   Disclosure of guilt and lies. 42