Professional Responsibility and Lawyer Ethics: A Case Study Analysis

This case study delves into the ethical responsibilities of a lawyer, Jarndyce, in a scenario involving a client, Estella, with whom he has a complex personal relationship. Estella, a blogger, faces a defamation case, and the analysis explores whether Jarndyce should represent her, considering potential conflicts of interest and adherence to the Legal Profession Uniform Law Australian Solicitors’ Conduct Rules 2015. The case highlights issues of professional duty, confidentiality, and the lawyer's obligation to act in the best interests of the client, while maintaining ethical boundaries. The study examines Jarndyce's actions, including his initial reluctance to take the case and his subsequent behavior influenced by personal factors, to determine if he is fulfilling his professional obligations. The analysis references relevant legal principles and the importance of maintaining professional conduct and avoiding any actions that could compromise the lawyer-client relationship.

Lawyers ethics and
professional
responsibility.

Table of Contents
Task .................................................................................................................................................1
With reference to a relevant case and a corresponding rule of the Legal Profession Uniform
Law Australian Solicitors’ Conduct Rules 2015 (SR). Discuss whether Jarndyce should be
acting for Estella. .......................................................................................................................1
Legal issues of the case- .............................................................................................................1
References:.......................................................................................................................................3

Task
With reference to a relevant case and a corresponding rule of the Legal Profession Uniform Law
Australian Solicitors’ Conduct Rules 2015 (SR). Discuss whether Jarndyce should be
acting for Estella.
The professional is the person who has certain degree in any specified field. The
professionals includes the teachers, doctors, lawyers, etc. All these professionals has the
obligation to follow certain duties and code of behaviours as per the law of the country. This case
study is about the profession of lawyer. The lawyer has the certain code of behaviours which has
to be fulfilled by him in all the conditions. These includes that the lawyer must always behave in
an adequate and proper manner. The lawyer should always behave in a dignified way to all its
clients. The lawyer should always give respect to the laws and courts of the country. In addition
to this, the lawyer should not meet his clients in private for any of the personal benefits. The
lawyers must not reveal any of the confidential information of his clients to any other person. So,
there must be the maintenance of the confidentiality between the lawyer and the client. The
lawyer cannot discriminate its clients on the basis of social status, religion, caste, race, etc. The
lawyer should maintain a proper dress code while working in the courts of the country(Allan,
2018).
Legal issues of the case-
 Whether Jarndyce should be acting for Estella.
 Whether Jarndyce is fulfilling his professional duties?
In the given case scenario, the lawyer Jarndyce is with the on and off relationship with
Estella. In the initial stage, Jarndyce refused to take the defamation case because he is not perfect
in these types of cases. He also suggested the Estella his friend for handling her case in place of
himself. But Estella, refused to do so and forced Jarndyce to take on with her case in the courts
of Australia. The Jarndyce has the professional duty to serve all his clients. So, Jarndyce must act
for Estella. But, in this condition he refused to do so. Later on, he said yes because of the sexual
appearance of Estella which is totally wrong as per the behaviour of code of professionalism.
Moreover, Jarndyce has also private relationship with Estella for which he went to her home and
then to her bedroom. This act done by Jarndyce was totally against the code of professionalism
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as per the law of the country. Hence, Jarndyce is not fulfilling his professional duties in all the
conditions of this present case scenario(Ismail and Yuhanis, 2018).
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References:
Books and Journals
Allan, A., 2018. Moral challenges for psychologists working in psychology and law. Psychiatry,
Psychology and Law, 25(3), pp.485-499.
Ismail, S. and Yuhanis, N., 2018. Determinants of ethical work behaviour of Malaysian public
sector auditors. Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Administration.
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