Undergraduate - UnitLAW4309 - Lawyers ethics and society

This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2015 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.

Level	Undergraduate
Faculty	Faculty of Law
Offered	Clayton First semester 2015 (Day) Clayton Second semester 2015 (Day) Clayton Summer semester B 2015 (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%

Workload requirements

Minimum total expected workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit is 144 hours per semester typically comprising a mixture of scheduled learning activities and independent study. The unit requires on average three/four hours of scheduled activities per week. Scheduled activities may include a combination of teacher directed learning, peer directed learning and online engagement.

Chief examiner(s)

Summer: Ms Oyiela Litaba
Semester 1: Adjunct Professor Nahum Mushin
Semester 2: Professor Christine Parker

Prerequisites

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