Barrister's Rules Flashcards
Rule 3
3 - Objects
(a) Act in accordance with general principles of professional conduct
(b) Act indepdently;
(c) Recognise obligations to the administration of justice: and
(d) Provide services of highest standard unaffected by personal interest
Rule 4
4 - Principles
(a) Paramount duty is to administration of justice;
(b) Maintain high standards of professional conduct;
(c) As specialist advocates, must act honestly, fairly, skilfully, bravely and with competence and diligence;
(d) Owe duties to the court, to their client, barristers and solicitors;
Theres a lot more
Rule 7
7 - Other standards
The Barrister’s Rules are not a code.
Topic - Advocacy Rules
8 - 9
Rule 8
8 - General
A barrister must not engage in conduct which is:
(a) Dishonest / discreditable;
(b) Prejudicial to the administration of justice; or
(c) Likely to diminish the public confidence in the legal profession.
Rule 9
9 - Another vocation
The prohibition against barrister’s engaging in other work that is likely to:
(a) Adversely affect the reputation of the legal profession/barrister;
(b) Impair / conflict with the barrister’s duty to the client;
(c) Prejudices a barrister’s ability to attend to client’s interests.
Rule 10
Prohibition against the use of a barrister’s professional qualifications for improper purposes.
Rule 11
11 - Work of a barrister A barrister's work consists of: - Advocacy; - Negotiation; - Representation; - Giving legal advice; - Drafting; - Anything incidental to the above.
Rule 12
12 - Requires that a barrister be a sole practitioner
Rule 13
13 - A barrister must not, subject to rules 14 and 15:
(a) Act as a general agent / attorney for a person in their business dealings with another;
(b) Conduct correspondence in the barrister’s name, otherwise than with the opponent;
(c) Place himself / herself at risk of becoming a witness;
(d) Act as a person’s only representative with the court, otherwise than when appearing as an advocate;
(e) Be the address for service of a document;
(f) Commence proceedings or file (other than in court) or serve any process of any court;
(g) Conduct a conveyance for any person;
(h) Administer any trust estate or fund for any other person
LIST CONTINUES DOWN TO (l)
Rules 14 and 15
14 states that you can do the things in rule 13 if doing them as a private person, not as a barrister, and without fee.
Rule 16
A barrister who is or may be engaged to perform work that is not barrister’s work must:
(a) promptly inform the person of the effect of rules 11, 12 and 13 as they relevantly apply in the circumstances; and
(b) That if it be the case, solicitors are capable of providing those services.
Rule 17
Cab-rank principle
A barrister must accept a brief from a solicitor to appear before a court in a field in which the barrister practises or professes to practice if:
(a) The brief is within the barrister’s capacity, skill and experience;
(b) The barrister would be available to do the work as required; and
(c) The fee is acceptable.
Rule 18
A barrister must not set the fee higher than usual with a view to deterring the solicitor from continuing to offer the brief.
Rule 19
A barrister must not require a particular person to be briefed or instructed as a requirement of accepting the brief.
Rule 20
A barrister must not make any arrangements that would prevent the barrister from:
(a) Accepting any brief to appear except for proper reasons; and
(b) Competing with any other legal practitioner for work.
Rule 21
A barrister is not obliged to accept a brief from a person who is not a solicitor.
Rule 22
A barrister who proposes to accept a direct access brief must:
(a) Inform the prospective client in writing of:
(i) The effect of rules 11 and 13;
(ii) The fact that circumstances may require the client to retain a solicitor at short notice, and possibly during the performance of the work;
(iii) Any other disadvantage the barrister reasonably believes may occur as a result of not retaining a solicitor;
(iv) The relative capacity of the barrister alone as compared to the barrister and solicitor; and
(v) A fair description of the barrister’s advocacy experience; and
(b) Obtain written acknowledgement signed by the client that he or she has been informed of the above.
Rule 23
Duty to the court
A barrister has an overriding duty to the court to act with independence in the interests of the administration of justice.
Rule 24
A barrister must not knowingly or recklessly deceive the court.
Rule 25
A barrister must correct any misleading statement made to the court as soon as practicable.
Rule 26
A barrister must alert the opponent and if necessary, the court, to any express concession made by the opponent in relation to evidence, case law or legislation, that is incorrect and which appears to the barrister to have been made by mistake.
Rule 27
A barrister seeking interlocutory ex parte relief must disclose to the court all factual and legal matters which are:
(a) Within the barrister’s knowledge;
(b) Not protected by privilege; and
(c) Would reasonably support an argument against the barrister’s case.
Rule 28
If there are adverse facts or case law that are protected by legal privilege, the barrister must:
(a) seek instructions for waiver of privilege to permit disclosure under r 27; and
(b) If the client refuses to give those instructions, the barrister must inform the client of the duty under r 27 and must refuse to appear on the application.