Students

LAWS8006 – Applied Legal Ethics

2023 – Session 1, In person-scheduled-weekday, North Ryde

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff
Esther Erlings
Contact via via iLearn
Consultation hours TBA (see ILearn)
Esther Erlings
esther.erlings@mq.edu.au
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
Admission to GradCertLaw or GradDipLaw or JD
Corequisites Corequisites
LAWS8001 or LAWS600 or admission to JD in 2014
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

In this unit students will be encouraged to develop an ethical approach to the study and practice of law. Ethical problems may present in diverse ways, including problems of confidentiality, access to justice or conflict of duty and interest. The lawyer's role in the resolution of these problems is examined in the context of the common law, statute, professional rules of conduct and diverse theoretical approaches to legal ethics. The lawyer's relationships with their client, the court and other legal practitioners as well as with the general public are strengthened through development of skills such as listening, interviewing and negotiation. The unit also emphasizes continued improvements in academic writing skills, concentrating on structure, legal language and issues of academic honesty.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • ULO1: Explain how ethical principles inform and underpin the law of professional responsibility that regulates the practice of law in Australia.
  • ULO2: Recognise the duties and obligations that are part of the legal practitioner’s relationship with his or her client, the court, other practitioners and members of the public.
  • ULO3: Apply the law of professional responsibility relevant to lawyers in Australia
  • ULO4: Critically analyse the different theoretical approaches to legal ethics and apply this analysis to the resolution of ethical problems.
  • ULO5: Demonstrate advanced communication skills required for ethical practice, especially listening skills, interviewing skills, cross cultural communication skills and negotiation skills.
  • ULO6: Apply mature and considered approaches to written communication including plain English principles and legal citation methods

General Assessment Information

All assessments are submitted electronically. Turnitin plagiarism detection software is used to check all written assessments.

Students should carefully check that they submit the correct file for an assessment as re-submissions will not be accepted after the due date and time, including instances where students upload an incorrect file in error.

Word limits are strictly applied. Work above the word limit will not be marked.  Footnotes are to be used only for referencing. Referencing must conform to the requirements set out in the Australian Guide to Legal Citation 4th edition.

Marking of all assessments is moderated through a process of blind marking and the use of detailed marking rubrics.

Late penalty policy

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (of the total possible mark) will be applied each day a written assessment is not submitted, up until the 7th day (including weekends). After the 7th day, a mark of ‘0’ (zero) will be awarded even if the assessment is submitted. Submission time for all written assessments is set at 11.55pm. A 1-hour grace period is provided to students who experience a technical issue.    

This late penalty will apply to non-timed sensitive assessment (incl essays, reports, posters, portfolios, journals, recordings etc). Late submission of time sensitive tasks (such as tests/exams, performance assessments/presentations, scheduled practical assessments/labs etc) will only be addressed by the unit convenor in a Special consideration application. Special Consideration outcome may result in a new question or topic. 

Special Consideration

Students should submit applications for Special Consideration electronically via ask.mq.edu.au, along with the supporting documentation. Before submitting their applications, students should refer to the Special Consideration policy (link provided under 'Policies and Procedures' below).

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
A series of in class and online activities 10% No ongoing
Client Interview Assessment 30% No video: 10/03/23, 11:55pm; essay: 05/04/23; 11:55pm
Legal Ethics paper 30% No 18/05/23, 11:55pm
Legal Ethics Quiz 30% No See iLearn for further information

A series of in class and online activities

Assessment Type 1: Participatory task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 12 hours
Due: ongoing
Weighting: 10%

 

A series of in class and online activities

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Explain how ethical principles inform and underpin the law of professional responsibility that regulates the practice of law in Australia.
  • Recognise the duties and obligations that are part of the legal practitioner’s relationship with his or her client, the court, other practitioners and members of the public.
  • Apply the law of professional responsibility relevant to lawyers in Australia
  • Critically analyse the different theoretical approaches to legal ethics and apply this analysis to the resolution of ethical problems.
  • Apply mature and considered approaches to written communication including plain English principles and legal citation methods

Client Interview Assessment

Assessment Type 1: Simulation/role play
Indicative Time on Task 2: 23 hours
Due: video: 10/03/23, 11:55pm; essay: 05/04/23; 11:55pm
Weighting: 30%

 

An assessment task built around a simulated client interview and reflective paper

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Recognise the duties and obligations that are part of the legal practitioner’s relationship with his or her client, the court, other practitioners and members of the public.
  • Apply the law of professional responsibility relevant to lawyers in Australia
  • Demonstrate advanced communication skills required for ethical practice, especially listening skills, interviewing skills, cross cultural communication skills and negotiation skills.

Legal Ethics paper

Assessment Type 1: Essay
Indicative Time on Task 2: 25 hours
Due: 18/05/23, 11:55pm
Weighting: 30%

 

A research paper on an applied ethics topic

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Explain how ethical principles inform and underpin the law of professional responsibility that regulates the practice of law in Australia.
  • Recognise the duties and obligations that are part of the legal practitioner’s relationship with his or her client, the court, other practitioners and members of the public.
  • Critically analyse the different theoretical approaches to legal ethics and apply this analysis to the resolution of ethical problems.
  • Apply mature and considered approaches to written communication including plain English principles and legal citation methods

Legal Ethics Quiz

Assessment Type 1: Quiz/Test
Indicative Time on Task 2: 1 hours
Due: See iLearn for further information
Weighting: 30%

 

An online quiz

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Explain how ethical principles inform and underpin the law of professional responsibility that regulates the practice of law in Australia.
  • Recognise the duties and obligations that are part of the legal practitioner’s relationship with his or her client, the court, other practitioners and members of the public.
  • Apply the law of professional responsibility relevant to lawyers in Australia
  • Critically analyse the different theoretical approaches to legal ethics and apply this analysis to the resolution of ethical problems.

1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

  • the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
  • the Writing Centre for academic skills support.

2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation

Delivery and Resources

There are weekly online lectures from weeks 1 to 12. Students are expected to listen to the lectures and work their way through the other materials on a weekly basis. All lecture recording and associated slides will be accessable through iLearn.

There is a weekly one-hour face-to-face tutorial for internal students from weeks 1 to 12 for students. There are bi-weekly two-hour online tutorials for external students from weeks 2 or 3 to weeks 12 or 13.

The required texts are:

Paula Baron and Lillian Corbin, Ethics and Legal Professionalism in Australia (Oxford University Press, 3rd ed, 2020)

Nichola Corbett-Jarvis and Brendan Grigg, Effective Legal Writing: A Practical Guide (LexisNexis, 3rd ed, 2021)

Students can buy these textbooks online from online resellers such as Booktopia , Amazon and Zookal. 

Additional readings will be accessable through iLearn.

Students require access to a computer, internet with decent speed and a secure/reliable server. The iLearn page contains all Unit requirements and a weekly schedule for teaching, readings and tutorials. Information about all assessment tasks is also available on iLearn. Students MUST submit all assessments through iLearn.

Unit Schedule

Perception of Lawyers

The Legal Profession

The Regulation of the Profession

Truth and Honesty (costs, trust accounts, admission and discipline)

Fidelity to the Law (candour, abuse of process)

Loyalty to the Client (retainers, conflicts, in house lawyers)

Confidentiality and Privilege

Competence (fiduciary duty and duty of care)

Service and Access to Justice

Civility and Courtesy

 

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Students seeking more policy resources can visit Student Policies (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/policies). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/student-conduct

Results

Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

Academic Integrity

At Macquarie, we believe academic integrity – honesty, respect, trust, responsibility, fairness and courage – is at the core of learning, teaching and research. We recognise that meeting the expectations required to complete your assessments can be challenging. So, we offer you a range of resources and services to help you reach your potential, including free online writing and maths support, academic skills development and wellbeing consultations.

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

The Writing Centre

The Writing Centre provides resources to develop your English language proficiency, academic writing, and communication skills.

The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources. 

Student Services and Support

Macquarie University offers a range of Student Support Services including:

Student Enquiries

Got a question? Ask us via AskMQ, or contact Service Connect.

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/. 

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.

Changes from Previous Offering

There is a change in the text book and the introduction of a legal writing text. Due to the change in text there has been an associated change in the order of content, although the substance remains largely the same.

Unit information based on version 2023.02 of the Handbook