Lawyers in Australia - Softcover

Lamb, Ainslie; Littrich, John; Murray, Karina

Softcover

ISBN 10: 186287641X ISBN 13: 9781862876415

Publisher: Federation Press, 2007

Synopsis

Lawyers in Australia is a wide-ranging and detailed examination of the legal profession. It contextualises the role, responsibilities and ethics of lawyers in contemporary Australian society and discusses recent trends and issues. There are chapters about: who lawyers are and what they do legal education in Australia including trends and developments the structure and regulation of the legal profession legal culture, including demographic and sociological trends the judiciary, focussing on accountability and the processes by which judges and magistrates are appointed the changing nature of legal services delivery due to the development of a national legal services market access to justice, including legal aid and pro bono services equality before the law with specific attention to indigenous peoples and refugees ethics and professional responsibility, including complaints and the disciplinary process the lawyer-client relationship, covering the retainer the duty to advise, the duty of competence and care, and the duty of loyalty the lawyers duty to the court and the proper administration of justice the future of the legal profession and legal services

About this title

Review:

Review of previous editions:
Students completing their bachelor of laws in jurisdictions where the study of ethics is compulsory (this is not the case in WA), and all graduates completing admissions courses, will find the section on ethics a very useful summary. It deals with ethical codes, the client-lawyer relationship and the lawyer’s duty to the court, to other members of the profession and third parties. The client-lawyer relationship incorporates detailed analysis of the retainer, the duty to advise, the duty of competence and care and the duty of loyalty. This section is also a primer for lawyers who wish to enlarge their understanding of the law underpinning professional conduct rules and the law relating to professional privilege and lawyer liability.

The sociological context covers the definition of a lawyer and legal work, the development of the Australian profession and professional institutions like law societies, fidelity funds and public purposes funds. There is a broader discussion about the role of the judiciary, the legal culture, the costs and delivery of legal services and access to justice that is general background for any lawyer or student preparing to undertake specific law reform analysis. To a certain extent the authors create for law students a tempered but nevertheless heroic context for their future practice of the law, emphasising what the law can do. The book would be a useful addition to a firm library, particularly if that firm engages winter and summer clerks and articled clerks and graduate trainees.

Law Society Journal of Western Australia, Vol 34 (10) November 2007

About the Author:

Ainslie Lamb AM

Ainslie holds a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for services to the legal profession, legal education in relation to cross-cultural and indigenous issues, and community education.

Ainslie practised as a solicitor in Victoria for 25 years. In 1994 she joined the Faculty of Law at the University of Wollongong, as the Foundation Director of the Practical Legal Training Course. She was appointed as an Honorary Professorial Fellow of the Faculty of Law in 2004.

 

 

John Littrich

John Littrich practised as a solicitor in the Illawarra area of New South Wales for 13 and was an accredited specialist in Family Law. He joined the Faculty of Law at the University of Wollongong as a leturer in the Practical Legal Training (PLT) Course in 2002.

During his years of practice he was also a regular volunteer with the Illawarra Community Legal Centre and is now a member of the Centre’s Management Board. He also worked for a year as an employer industrial advocate.

Now a senior lecturer, in his time with the Faculty of Law he has taught in the LLB Lawyers and Australian Society subject and, for several years, has co-ordinated and taught in the LLB Family Law subjects, in addition to his PLT commitments. He also co-ordinates the Faculty’s Legal Internship Program.

About this edition

• Publisher: Federation Press
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 186287641X
• ISBN 13: 9781862876415
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 352