Activity 4.1 - Ethical duty to court PDF

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Martinovic exercises...

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Question 1 (A) (I) (II)

Mr Martinovic breached his duty to court and to the administration of justice. He did this by acting for a client in a matter where “any competent barrister in Mr Martinovic’s position giving proper attention to the prospects of success would have concluded that there was no arguable basis for the review” as per Moyniham J.

(B) It was concluded that the fact that this was a pro-bono case for Martinovic did not mean that he owed a lesser duty to the court. This duty to the court is paramount to the duty to the client which Mr Martinovic claims to have been following. (C) Court’s can make orders as to costs when lawyers waste the court’s time – this is called ‘wasted costs’. This power is contained in r 63.23 of the Supreme Court Rules 2005. Question 2 (A) (I)

I cannot accept instructions to act for Indira as I am on a restricted practising certificate. This means that I must be supervised and that I therefore cannot take this on independently. This is regulated by the LSBC. I am required to be covered by an approved insurance policy as per part 4.4 of the Legal Profession Uniform Law (Vic) in order to act as a lawyer. Acting independently from my firm, presumably where my approved insurance comes from, would be acting without insurance, so it is not allowed.

(II)

(B) Yes, after 2 years of supervised practice I am no longer on a restricted practising certificate – however the indemnity insurance is still an issue. (C) In Indira’s scenario, her eligibility for legal aid is based on: -

What the case is about (employment law is generally acceptable) The likely benefit to Indira If helping Indira can benefit the public Indira’s financial situation

It is likely that Indira would in fact be able to seek assistance from Legal Aid for this matter.

Question 3 (A) Funnily enough in line with the above question I have a massive interest in employment law. Which doesn’t really only cover one social group, however it often affects already disadvantaged people as their work conditions and entitlements are not always up to scratch. Even for people who aren’t otherwise disadvantaged, I am still very much interested in this too as I find that not many people know their entitlements in employment law and get taken advantage of by their employer. (B) JobWatch is a great service based in Melbourne (of which I had the pleasure of volunteering at) which aims to help anyone with employment law issues. The TIS

phone line is a service which listens to individuals employment law issues and is able to give information for which avenues or action they may be able to take. This is performed mostly by volunteer law students. There are also other projects where in house lawyers give advice and take on cases. Question 4 (A) Due to the fact that Marron and Barney are aboriginal, there needs to be a degree of cultural awareness and sensitivity with this matter. I should be aware that the culture of my client may impact on their communication with me. This cultural awareness would allow me to understand why there is not much eye contact from my client. (B) Due to my alternative employment in the commercial transactions team at the firm, I must make sure that there is no conflict with the commercial banking corporation which has issued proceedings against Barney.

(C) It is appropriate that I am supervised for this due to my lack of experience in possession proceedings. In accordance with rule 4.1.3 ASCR, I must deliver legal services competently, which being supervised will help to maintain....