Deakin home > Deakin University Library > Deakin Research Online > Legal ethics is (just) normal ethics: towards a coherent system of legal ethics

Legal ethics is (just) normal ethics: towards a coherent system of legal ethics

Bagaric, Mirko and Dimopoulos, Penny 2003, Legal ethics is (just) normal ethics: towards a coherent system of legal ethics, Queensland University of Technology law and justice journal, vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 367-396.

Document type: Journal Article
Collection: School of Law
Attached Files (Some files may be inaccessible until you login with your Deakin Research Online credentials)
Name Description MIMEType Size Downloads

Title Legal ethics is (just) normal ethics: towards a coherent system of legal ethics
Author(s) Bagaric, Mirko
Dimopoulos, Penny
Journal name Queensland University of Technology law and justice journal
Volume number 3
Issue number 2
Start page 367
End page 396
Publisher Queensland University of Technology. Faculty of Law
Place of publication Brisbane, Qld
Publication date 2003
ISSN 1445-6230
1445-6249
Summary The standards governing how lawyers ought to conduct themselves consist of a number disparate principles and rules, which are devoid of an overarching rationale. We argue that legal ethics is not a stand-alone social construct. Rather, it is the application of normal ethical principles so far as they relate to the law. Approached in this manner, legal ethics becomes a far more coherent and justifiable institution. In this paper we apply general moral theory to several key dilemmas facing lawyers. This results in outcomes which some may find counter-intuitive. We conclude that lawyers should not do pro bono work; that the first cab rank off the rank principle is unsound and that there is no relevant difference between expressly misleading the court and putting the other side to the proof of its case.
Language eng
Field of Research 220105 Legal Ethics
HERDC Research category C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal
ERA Research output type C Journal article
Copyright notice ©2003, Queensland University of Technology
Persistent URL http://hdl.handle.net/10536/DRO/DU:30002063
Connect to link resolver
 
Unless expressly stated otherwise, the copyright for items in Deakin Research Online is owned by the author, with all rights reserved.
Versions
Version Filter Type
Access Statistics: 1036 Abstract Views, 0 File Downloads  -  Detailed Statistics
Created: Mon, 07 Jul 2008, 08:14:17 EST