LAW AND ETHICS

Law and Ethics

Law and Ethics

Introduction

This paper focuses on the law and ethics? for the purpose of this paper following statement have been selected: 'Law and Ethics are fundamentally distinct concepts. The lawyer should have no regard for the moral character of her client? her actions or of the laws governing her actions. All that matters is the law.' This paper will critically discuss the statement in order find out whether the lawyer should have regards for moral character of her client or not.

Analysis

To a large extent? access to justice? and the quality of law and the legal process is in the hands of legal practitioners who can (and frequently do) cause much harm in their professional activities.' For example? treating law purely as a business can lead to citizens going unrepresented or being poorly represented. Conversely? overzealous representation and Loyalty to clients may harm opponents? affected third parties? the administration of justice? and the general public interest. Accordingly? at least since the realisation that most Watergate miscreants were trained lawyers? professional legal ethics has been taught and academically debated in the United States. (Rhode? 1994? 6) A similar willingness to take ethics seriously has spread more recently to Canada? Australia and New Zealand.

In the United Kingdom? the general public has long been sceptical about the integrity of lawyers? while consumer and government concerns about their morality? access to justice? and the quality of legal services have led to increased regulation and calls for ethics to become central to legal education? (Rhode? 1994? 6)However? influenced by legal formalism's banishment of all questions of morality and justice from the study and teaching of law? as well as by the traditional distinction between 'academic' and 'vocational' issues in legal education? academics have until very recently almost totally ignored lawyers' ethics. (Rhode? 1994? 6)

Admittedly? there has a relatively long-standing interest in related 'macro' ethical issues? such as access to justice? the meaning of professionalism? and the existence and justifiability of restrictive practices. But? by contrast? discussion of the ethical dilemmas raised by legal practice? such as whether lawyers should act for any client irrespective of moral considerations? how far they should go in pursuing client interests? whether there should be limits to client confidentiality and how to reconcile conflicts of interest? has been largely confined to descriptive accounts written by and for practitioners.' In the last ten years? however? academic interest in 'micro' ethics has mushroomed. Edited collections: full-length books?' a special edition of the International Journal of the Legal Profession?" and articles in assorted journals" have all appeared? along with the 1998 launch of Legal Ethics? the establishment of the SPTL (now SLS) Practice? Profession and Ethics subjection? and most recently Exeter University's hosting of the First International Conference on Legal Ethics. In broad terms?" (Nicolson? 2003? 129) this burgeoning debate over micro ethics has addressed one or other of two concerns: the 'what' and the 'how' of lawyers' ethics. The former is concerned with the content of lawyers' ethics? looking ...