Materials comprised of a Paper and PowerPoint Handout.
Presenters:
Michael Taylor, Partner, Russell McVeagh
Joanna Trezise, Senior Solicitor, Russell McVeagh
Synopsis:
Refresh your understanding of your duties and responsibilities when it comes to client relationships, and how best to manage issues when they arise. Key areas these materials will cover:
- Conflicts of interest (when you can and can't act, navigating conflicts in practice, circumstances where your advice may conflict with your own interests);
- Your duty to disclose information to your client, and circumstances where this may not be so simple (privileged communications disclosed in error, receiving information on a counsel only basis, supposedly 'off the record' discussions);
- Maintaining integrity and upholding your duties in the face of questionable instructions (legal processes for improper purposes, dishonest clients, clients changing their story, baseless allegations); and
- What to do if something goes wrong, and your client may have a claim against you.
Discussion will include practical examples of the issues and complexities which commonly arise in legal practice, rather than focussing simply on theory.
These materials will help you:
- Refresh your knowledge of the fundamental obligations of lawyers under the Lawyers and Conveyancers Act 2006.
- Develop your understanding of the key duties involved in your client relationships, including the management of conflicts of interest, duties in relation to information disclosure and confidentiality, and your duties in the face of questionable instructions.
- Develop your understanding of the competing interests at play in your duties to your client and as an 'officer' of the court.
- Learn how to apply the theory of legal ethics to the real world scenarios which commonly arise in legal practice.
Intended audiance
These materials will be particularly useful for practitioners at the junior or intermediate level of experience, but will also provide a helpful refresher for more senior practitioners.
