Do lawyers have moral duties as well as legal duties? Should they be required to defend someone they know is guilty? Or to do something they believe to be morally questionable, even if legally permissible, just because it’s their client’s instructions? Can, in fact, a good lawyer be a good person? You will tackle these questions and more through an in-depth examination of the moral and ethical questions surrounding legal practice
interrogating the idea that there might be something specific to law and legal practice that warrants a specific set of ethics – and what that should contain.
You will begin with an exploration of the moral reasoning and arguments that justify the notion of legal ethics. Equipped with these theoretical foundations, you will move to examine the practice of lawyers and lawyering
using a series of case studies and real-world examples to explore issues like conflict of interest, integrity, confidentiality and complicity. Through these case studies you will challenge your understanding of legal ethics, and the notion of professional ethics more broadly. This module will provide you with an intellectually demanding introduction to the academic study of legal ethics, and the ethics of lawyering more broadly, which will push you to hone your skills of argumentation, analysis and critique.
Lectures 16 hours, Workshops 16 hours
Option 1
Short Writing Piece. Assessment Details: Outline (800 words) worth 30% of the total marks for the module.
Extended Writing. Assessment Details: Report (2000 words) worth 70% of the total marks for the module. This Assessment is Pass Compulsory.
Option 2
Short Writing Piece. Assessment Details: Outline (800 words) worth 30% of the total marks for the module
Individual Presentation-Practical- Presentation (20 minutes plus slides) -worth 70% of the total marks for the module- This Assessment is Pass Compulsory.
Reassessment Method: like-for-like
For reading lists see the detailed module information on moodle
On successfully completing the module, students will be able to:
1) Explain the ways in which questions in legal ethics intersect with law and legal practice, moral philosophy and professional ethics
2) Critically evaluate and engage with philosophical arguments about lawyers' moral responsibilities and moral role(s)
3) Analyse and critically evaluate a range of responses, including a lawyer’s, to ethical dilemmas and questions that arise in legal practice
4) Analyse and critically evaluate complex material across several disciplines, including law, moral philosophy, and professional ethics
5) Develop clear and sustained arguments in supporting or challenging responses to ethical dilemmas.
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