Professional Ethics for Legal Professionals Flashcards

What is 'whistleblowing' in the legal profession?

Answer: Reporting suspected wrongdoing (including by colleagues or employers) to the appropriate regulator or authority, protected under public interest legislation

Whistleblowing involves disclosing information about suspected wrongdoing (such as regulatory breaches, criminal conduct, or serious professional misconduct) to an appropriate body. The Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 provides employment protection for qualifying disclosures.

What is the obligation regarding 'vulnerable clients'?

Answer: Legal professionals must take particular care with vulnerable clients, including ensuring they have capacity, giving clear explanations, and considering whether a third party should be present

Vulnerability can arise from age, disability, mental health, bereavement, or other circumstances. Legal professionals must ensure vulnerable clients understand advice, have capacity to give instructions, and are not being unduly influenced — adapting the service to meet their needs.

What is the 'duty to act in the client's best interests'?

Answer: The duty to give advice and take actions that best serve the client's legal interests, with undivided loyalty, subject to the overriding duty to the court and the law

The duty to act in the client's best interests requires undivided loyalty — prioritising the client's legal interests, giving honest advice even when unwelcome, avoiding conflicts of interest, and not acting for personal advantage. It is overridden by the duty to the court and obligations under the law.

What is 'accountability' as a professional value?

Answer: The obligation to take personal responsibility for one's professional actions and decisions, and to be answerable to the client, employer, and regulator

Accountability means accepting personal responsibility for professional conduct and being willing to answer to clients, the regulator, and the public for decisions taken. It underpins public trust in the legal profession.

What is the significance of 'trust and confidence' in the client-lawyer relationship?

Answer: The relationship depends on clients trusting that their lawyer will keep information confidential, act in their interests, and behave with integrity — without this trust, clients cannot access justice effectively

The client-lawyer relationship is built on trust — clients must be able to share sensitive information, rely on confidentiality, and trust that the professional acts with integrity. Without this trust, clients cannot properly instruct their lawyers or access justice.

What ethical obligation arises where a legal professional discovers their client has lied to the court?

Answer: The professional must advise the client to correct the misleading statement; if the client refuses, the professional may be required to cease acting but cannot reveal the lie due to privilege

Where a client has misled the court, the professional must advise them to correct the record. If the client refuses, the professional must withdraw from the case (without revealing the reason due to confidentiality), but must not continue to act where to do so would involve misleading the court.