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Unit Summary
Unit type
UG Coursework Unit
Credit points
12
AQF level
Level of learning
Advanced
Former School/College
Pre-requisites
LAW00111 - Legal Process AND LAW00520 - The Philosophy of Law OR LAW72001 - Civil Litigation and Procedure AND 132 credit points in any SCU units
Unit aim
Provides an understanding of the principles of legal ethics together with a detailed knowledge of the application of these principles in respect of the legal profession. Emphasis will be placed on the most significant ethical considerations encountered by practitioners such as entry and regulation of the profession, delivery and regulation of legal services, duties to clients, duties to lawyers and duties to the courts.
Unit content
Topic 1 Introduction to the legal profession in NSW and Australia
Topic 2 The ethical framework for lawyers in Australia
Topic 3 Structure and regulation, admission and discipline
Topic 4 Discipline
Topic 5 Representation
Topic 6 Competence and care
Topic 7 Confidentiality and privilege
Topic 8 Conflict of interest
Topic 9 Communication and control
Topic 10 The adversarial system
Learning outcomes
Unit Learning Outcomes express learning achievement in terms of what a student should know, understand and be able to do on completion of a unit. These outcomes are aligned with the graduate attributes. The unit learning outcomes and graduate attributes are also the basis of evaluating prior learning.
| On completion of this unit, students should be able to: | GA1 | GA2 | GA3 | GA4 | GA5 | GA6 | GA7 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | critically analyse the principles and concepts of legal ethics and apply them to the practice of law | |||||||
| 2 | apply critical judgment and research to legal issues and challenges in the area of legal professional conduct | |||||||
| 3 | demonstrate an ability to communicate effectively both orally and in writing to legal audiences | |||||||
| 4 | demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the body of law relevant to legal professional practice. | |||||||
On completion of this unit, students should be able to:
-
critically analyse the principles and concepts of legal ethics and apply them to the practice of law
- GA4:
-
apply critical judgment and research to legal issues and challenges in the area of legal professional conduct
- GA3:
-
demonstrate an ability to communicate effectively both orally and in writing to legal audiences
- GA6:
-
demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the body of law relevant to legal professional practice.
- GA4:
Prescribed texts
- MacFarlane, P, & Ross, Y, 2016, Ethics, Professional Responsibility and Legal Practice, Lexis-Nexis Australia. ISBN: 9780409344073.