Professional identity and the role of lawyers Flashcards
what are the duties of a lawyer
client, justice/court, colleagues and society, hierachically its to the court/justice though
what makes up someones professional identity
their social identity, personal and role (as a lawyer)
what are the steps to ethical decision making?
- interpreting the situation
- determining the best moral course of action
- deciding what you intend to do
- execution of that
What does it mean that being a lawyer is a profession? 4
- lawyers are officers of the court meanign that they have significant responsibilties/expectations/obligations to the court and to justice
- it is more than just a job in that they have certain values and qualities expected of them such as honesty and integrity
- they have an ethical code they must live by
- it isn’t just a business as it is often perceived to be in the pursuit of money but rather achieivng justice for the community
List the differences between a solicitor and barrister
Solicitor -
- less likely to represent a client in court/appear in court
- do more of the prepatory tasks such as research
- usually employed
Barrister -
- more likely to represent a client in court/appear in court
- usually self-employed
List the ethical dilemmas of a corporate lawyer 3
- conflicts of interest, especially because many companies are subsidaries belonging to larger umbrella companies
- money-driven rather than justice-driven
- difficult to determine who the actual client is whether its the company or certain individuals of that company
What is an in-house lawyer and explain potential ethical concerns
- lawyer who is employed by a large organisation to provide legal advise and representation to liaise with law firms and barristers
- they have competing interests in regards to being loyal to the interests of the compant and reporting issues
- being a lawyer and working for a company are not inseparable positions
- they cannot be fully independent or transparent
What ethical challenges might a family lawyer face?
- there can be competing intersts between the client and the child where the intersts of the child take precedence
- maintaining client confidentiality can be more challenging
- accessing a lawyer in a rural area can be challenging if they’ve already been contacted by one party and thus have an obligation of conflicts of interests
What ethical challenges might a community lawyer face? 3
- the closeness of communities could create issues in maintaining confidentiality
- community firms are often understaffed
- it is common practice in rural communities for a solicitor to be representing both parties
What are the ethical implications of technology on the legal profession? 6
- there has been a shift away from memorising black letter law to a skill-focused approach
- with laws and legal advice easily avaliable online the skills required to be a lawyer have become much more demanding
- there are ethical challenges such as such data breaches that can ruin client confidentiality, there is more pressure for data to be handled ethically and responsibly
- lawyers using AI for documentation is especially alarming as most often the cases are made up and not reflective of a lawyer’s ethical obligation to the client
- technology is however making the process of e-discovery more efficent
- technology has also made law and legal services more accessible to people who cannot afford a lawyer with inventions such as shakelaw and legalzoom which helps customers create legal documents without the need of hiring a lawyer - however sometimes these can be produced inaccurately and will then require a lawyer regardless
What is a t-shaped lawyer and why are they needed for the future? 2
- its about having the legal skills required and on top of this skills/experience from different disciplines such as business, data analytics, politics and economics
- its about being adaptable, being able to communicate and collaborate across different disciplines
What are some of the skills needed to be a good laywer? 6
- project management
- teamwork
- interdisciplinary experience
- adaptability
- self-reliant
- transferrable skills
