Undergraduate - UnitLAW5125 - Lawyers ethics and society 506

This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2014 only. For students planning to study the unit, please refer to the unit indexes in the the current edition of the Handbook. If you have any queries contact the managing faculty for your course or area of study.

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6 points, SCA Band 3, 0.125 EFTSL

Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered, or view unit timetables.

Level	Undergraduate
Faculty	Faculty of Law
Offered	Clayton First semester 2014 (Day) Clayton Second semester 2014 (Day)

Synopsis

Topics include: history, organisation, education, functions and regulation of lawyers in Victoria and elsewhere; reform issues; nature and significance of a profession; independence of courts and lawyers; changing face of dispute resolution; the cost of justice and different modes of legal service delivery; standards of professional conduct including basic trust accounting, complaints and disciplinary procedures; ethical rules and moral values, with a particular emphasis on identifying and resolving ethical issues. The unit meets the requirements of the Council of Legal Education for admission to practice in Victoria in the area of 'professional conduct' (including basic trust accounting).

Outcomes

Students successfully completing this unit should:

have an understanding of the legal profession in its historical and societal contexts and issues surrounding the regulation of the profession
be able to analyse critically the role of the lawyer in the Australian legal system with reference to questions such as the independence of courts and lawyers, the adversarial nature of the system, dispute resolution, the cost of justice and different modes of legal service delivery
have examined and understood the concept of trust in the lawyer-client relationship
have developed skills in recognising and distinguishing types of professional and personal conduct and questions of moral, ethical and legal obligation
have developed skills in applying the law of contract and torts in relation to lawyer-client duties, breaches and remedies
have enhanced skills in critical analysis and presentation of argument.

Assessment

Summer: Research assignment (compulsory) (2000 words): 40%
Examination (60%) - 2.5 hours writing, 30 minutes reading and noting
Semesters 1 and 2:
Class Participation: 10%
Research Assignment (Compulsory) 2000 words: 40%
Examination (2 hours plus 30 minutes reading and noting time): 50%

Chief examiner(s)

Associate Professor Gaye Lansdell (Summer Semester)
Professor Adrian Evans (First Semester)
Professor Christine Parker (Second Semester)

Workload requirements

Semesters 1 and 2: Stream 1 - six hours of lectures per week for 6 weeks, commencing Week 7 of semester. Stream 2 - three hours of lectures per week for 12 weeks.
Summer Semester A: 12 hours of lectures per week for 3 weeks (4 hours per day - 3 days per week)

Prerequisites

LAW1100 or LAW1101 and LAW1102 or LAW1104; LAW2100 or LAW2101 and LAW2102; LAW2200 or LAW2201 and LAW2202