To best prepare for this course, you should already have completed all of Part III because concepts from the Law of Equity are included.
You must take this course if you intend to be admitted to practice law in New Zealand.
If you are not sure what you will go on to do after graduating you should take this course to keep all options open to you.
You must sit the final exam to be eligible to pass this course.
The NZ Council of Legal Education has set the following requirements for you to study on this course:
- An introduction to ethical analysis including an examination of various theories of ethics.
- The applicability of ethical analysis to legal practice
- The principles of ethical conduct and the role and responsibilities of lawyers
- The wider responsibilities of lawyers in the community
The course prescription above sets the framework for your learning and this course ids designed around it. It gives rise to interesting questions about working in professional legal practice including:
- What is the ethical threshold that law graduates must meet in order to enter the legal profession?
- What is appropriate ethical behaviour by lawyers towards others including their clients, opposing parties, other lawyers and judges?
- The significance of the law contract, consumer law, equity, and torts in relation to lawyer-client duties, breaches, and remedies.
- What is appropriate ethical behaviour in different contexts including the office, in Court and outside work hours?
- What is the disciplinary process for lawyers who breach their ethical obligations?
- What wider ethical obligations do lawyers have to the New Zealand public to facilitate access to justice?
- What are significant ethical issues facing the legal profession that have arisen in recent years and how are these being addressed?