Lawyers and Professional Responsibility G (11433.2)

This unit introduces graduate students to what is often understood as the ethics and professional responsibility of legal practitioners. This unit aims to prepare students to join the legal profession by exposing them to the history, regulation and professional responsibilities of legal practitioners. The unit encompasses professional conduct obligations and discipline. It also provides students with a basis on which to approach and manage professional and ethical conflicts as practitioners.

Learning outcomes

After successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:
1. Identify, analyse, and explain the theoretical and conceptual bases of lawyers' obligations to the administration of justice, the courts, clients, the profession and the community at common law, equity and under the rules of professional conduct;
2. Critique formal and tacit expectations of law societies and courts regarding practitioner conduct;
3. Synthesise, reflect on and strategise prevention of and solutions for ethical problems and breaches of professional responsibilities likely to arise in practice; and
4. Develop critical reflection skills with respect to professional identity, cultural awareness and personal accountability.

Graduate attributes

1. UC graduates are professional - communicate effectively
1. UC graduates are professional - display initiative and drive, and use their organisation skills to plan and manage their workload
1. UC graduates are professional - employ up-to-date and relevant knowledge and skills
1. UC graduates are professional - take pride in their professional and personal integrity
1. UC graduates are professional - use creativity, critical thinking, analysis and research skills to solve theoretical and real-world problems
2. UC graduates are global citizens - adopt an informed and balanced approach across professional and international boundaries
2. UC graduates are global citizens - behave ethically and sustainably in their professional and personal lives
2. UC graduates are global citizens - communicate effectively in diverse cultural and social settings
2. UC graduates are global citizens - make creative use of technology in their learning and professional lives
2. UC graduates are global citizens - think globally about issues in their profession
2. UC graduates are global citizens - understand issues in their profession from the perspective of other cultures
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - adapt to complexity, ambiguity and change by being flexible and keen to engage with new ideas
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - be self-aware
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - evaluate and adopt new technology
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - reflect on their own practice, updating and adapting their knowledge and skills for continual professional and academic development

Prerequisites

11751 Legal Methods and Skills G AND 11752 Legal Systems G

Corequisites

This unit is only available to students in the Juris Doctor, Master of Laws, Master of Legal Studies and Graduate Diploma in Legal Studies courses.

Incompatible units

11273 Lawyers and Professional Responsibility

Equivalent units

7230 Lawyers and Professional Responsibility G

Assumed knowledge

None.