Faculty of Law Undergraduate Handbook - Faculty of Law - The ...

Compulsory Requirement for LLB III or IVLAW 400/499 — Legal Research 3 — see page 74LAW 458 — Legal EthicsCredit Points: 10 pointsOffered: First and Second SemesterContact Hours: Lectures — 2 hours per weekCoordinator: Dr Tim DarePrerequisites: LAW 201, 211, 231, 241Course Description:This ten-point course has been introduced to fulfill a requirement imposed by the Council for Legal Education (CLE).New Zealand law graduates must obtain a pass in a CLE approved Legal Ethics course, in addition to post-graduateprofessional legal studies, in order to be admitted as a barrister and solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand.Although an elective course for the LLB, students intending to be admitted to the bar are required to take this course.A student, who does not intend to go on to admission to the bar and does not wish to take Legal Ethics, will need totake an additional elective course. Overseas law graduates will generally be required to pass this course prior toadmission in New Zealand.The CLE has stipulated that the course involves teaching (a) the philosophical basis of legal professional ethics; and (b)the practical application of legal professional ethics; that the examination should appropriately test both components;and that at least one problem question is used in the examination to focus on the practical application of professionalethics.Content Outline:(a) A study of legal ethics and professional responsibility including an introduction to ethical analysis which examinesvarious theories of ethics; the applicability of ethical analysis to legal practice; the concept of a profession and theethical and professional duties of practitioners; and the wider responsibilities of lawyers in the community.(b) A consideration of the most significant of the rules set out by the New Zealand Law Society in the Rules ofProfessional Conduct for Barristers and Solicitors (6th ed, 2000 as amended). Major topics include conflicts of interest(including ‘Chinese walls’), rules on confidentiality, duties to the court over and above those owed to one’s client, dutiesof loyalty and fidelity, the ‘cab rank’ rule, and the additional obligations imposed on prosecuting counsel. Issues ofjudicial ethics may also be considered.Assessment:Final Examination (2 hours)Law Elective Courses Available in 2010LAW 401 — Guarantees and IndemnitiesCredit Points: 10 pointsOffered: Second SemesterContact Hours: Lectures — 2 hours per weekLecturer: Michael LenihanPrerequisites: LAW 201, 211, 231, 24132 | 2010 Faculty of Law Handbook