Week 8: Civility and Courtesy Flashcards
(16 cards)
What is civility?
→ Civility is usually defined as politeness requires the capacity to listen and a sense of self-confidence as well as the qualities of courage, maturity, and personal integrity, and also reflects respect and appreciation for the humanity and ideals of the opponent. To be uncivil in disagreements usually reflects the opposite qualities
Conduct Rules
Which behaviours fall within the notion of civility?
→ Civility includes not just good manners, but also preparedness and timeliness
→ The NSW Office of the Legal Services Commissioner:
- Offensive or provocative language, including swearing at a client or fellow practitioner
- Discrimination against a client, fellow practitioner and witness
- Making statements during proceedings that are disrespectful, or impute dishonesty and/or impropriety to the court or fellow practitioners - rule 32.1 ASCR
- Using offensive and intimidatory language in correspondence to fellow practitioners, clients, opposing parties or investigating authorties - rule 34.1 ASCR
- Sexual misconducr
Civility does not include an obligation to be ‘nice’
- Civility does not override freedom of expression
Brown v Maurice Blackburn Cashman [2012]
Lander v Council of the Law Society ACT
Why is civility important?
→ Civility can contribute to lawyer wellbeing
→ Incivility in law discourages parties from settling, or even agreeing on uncontroversial issues of law
→ Incivility results in higher costs for clients
→ Civility is good for business, helps build and maintain clients
→ Incivility increases public scepticism about lawyers and the litigation proccess
Clients
→ Most complaints about incivility to the NSW Office of the Legal Services Commissioner about practitioner rudeness are made by clients complaining about their own representatives
Clients on the other side of a matter
Colleagues
Opposing Lawyers
Judges
Third Parties
Members of the Public
In what forums do you need to show civility and courtesy?
→ Civility also extends to written communications - all correspondence, including that sent by email, should be drafted as if it will be seen and scrutinised by the court and all communications - formal and informal - that take place in a professional context, should undertake with an appreciation that the communication may be recounted in court
→ The Victorian Bar in 2010 released an Ethics Committee Bulletin on ‘Social Networking Sites and Breaches of Professional Conduct Rules’. This bulletin reminded members that the reults of professional conduct apply equally to their activities on social networking sites such as Facebook or Twitter as they ordinarily do in other aspects of their day to day professional and personal lives. It urged members to become conscious of their duties under the rules and refrain from publishing anything on a social networking site that:
- Discloses confidential information
- Expresses an opinion on the merits of a potential or current proceeding
- Reflects an opinion of the professional characteristics of fellow barristers in a way such as to impugn the dignity and high standing of the profession
Expresses an opinion (e.g. about a judicial officer or a solicitor) that is likely to diminish public confidence in the legal profession or in the administration of justice or otherwise brings the legal profession into disrepute
To what extent can having mental illness excuse a person from failing to exercise civility and courtesy?
Is there a decline in civility amongst lawyers?
