LW 306: LEGAL ETHICS

COURSE INFORMATION AND ASSESSMENT

OUTLINE

1. SEMESTER/YEAR: Semester 1, 2024

2. MODE OF DELIVERY/LOCATION: Face to face Emalus Campus and Laucala Campus;

Online all other locations.

3. PRE-REQUISITES: 4 x 200-level LW courses (LLB)

3 x 200-level LW courses (BA

4. OVERALL COURSE CO-ORDINATOR:

Ms. Samanunu Vaniqi (F2F – Laucala Campus)
Email: samanunu.vaniqi@usp.ac.fj

5. TEACHING TEAM:

LAUCALA CAMPUS- Ms Samanunu Vaniqi

EMALUS CAMPUS – Ms Cathy Hite
ONLINE – Ms Kanksha Ghimire

6. LECTURE TIMES & VENUE:

USP Laucala Campus:

Day: TBC
Time: TBC
Room Number: TBC

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 USP Emalus Campus:
Day: TBC
Time: TBC
Room Number: TBC

7. COURSE DESCRIPTION

Any person studying for a professional degree should have some knowledge of the ethical
principles upon which the practice of all professions is based. Students of law in particular require
an understanding not only of the organization, nature, structure, practice and operation of the legal
profession, but also an appreciation of the ethics which impact upon their work as lawyers and their
relationship with the community. The duties imposed on the lawyer can be seen as being
grounded in ethics. These duties, to the court and the client, will be considered in this course.

8. COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES

The School of Law has established learning outcomes to develop specific attributes. On successful completion
of this course, students should be able to:

I. Explain the rules of practice that relate to the profession of law in the Pacific region;
II. Locate legislation and case authorities relating to legal ethics and the practice of law in the
Pacific region;
III. Apply ethical rules and legal principles to factual scenarios arising in the practice of
law in the Pacific region;
IV. Discuss critically the duties that lawyers have to their clients, the court and the public;
V. Analyze critically the challenges facing the legal profession in the Pacific region; and
VI. Communicate ethically, professionally, and clearly in a range of contexts, including legal
and academic referencing and citation. Each of these outcomes is focused on USP member
states and the Pacific context.

9. USP GRADUATE OUTCOMES

The USP graduate outcomes are as follows:

I. Communication: Graduates will be able to communicate ideas clearly and persuasively in

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 structured formats using language and other modes of communication that are appropriate for
context, audience and specific disciplinary conventions
II. Creativity: Graduates will extend boundaries of current knowledge in a particular discipline
or profession
III. Critical Thinking and Quantitative Reasoning: Graduates will be able to evaluate multiple
perspectives and arrive at a reasonable independent judgment based one evidence
IV. Ethics: Graduates will demonstrate a commitment to high ethical standards in scholarly,
professional and socio-cultural practices
V. Pacific Consciousness: Graduates will recognize the cultural heritage and diversity of Pacific
societies for sustainable development in a contemporary environment
VI. Professionalism: Graduates will demonstrate the ability to carry out tasks to acceptable
standards within their profession and occupations
VII. Teamwork: Graduates will work together in a respectful and collaborative manner to complete
tasks within teams to achieve an outcome.

10. COURSE CONTENT

WEEKS COURSE CONTENT

TOPIC 1: INTRODUCTION TO LEGAL ETHICS

Who is a Lawyer? What is Legal Ethics? Importance of Legal Ethics in the practice
1. of law.
2. Professional Standards and Responsibilities expected of a Lawyer
3. Lawyers and the Rule of Law

TOPIC 2: ETHICAL DUTIES

4. A Lawyer’s ethical duties to the Court: Nature of the Adversary System and a
lawyer’s duty to the Court.
5. Who is a Client? Client Care and Duties to a Client (including care,
independence, loyalty, fidelity, confidentiality in this information age,
communication, conflicts, termination of responsibilities, and fees)

TOPIC 3: : BREACHES OF ETHICAL DUTIES &

RESPONSIBILITIES

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 6. What happens when there is a breach of Ethical Duties and Obligations?
Professional Misconduct v Unprofessional conduct
Unsatisfactory Conduct v Malpractice
A Lawyer’s duty to another Lawyer, the Public and Other Persons.
7.

MID SEMESTER BREAK

TOPIC 4: LAW PRACTICE
8. Law Practice Management and Government lawyers
Bar Admissions and Who can Practice Law
9.

TOPIC 5: MAINTAINING THE INTEGRITY OF THE

PROFESSION
10. Health and Well Being in the Legal Profession – Changing the Dialogue.
11 Mentoring and the Important Role it Plays in the Legal Profession
12 Advertisement of Legal Services and the extent allowed by Law

REVISION AND EXAM

13 Revision
14 Study Week
15/16 Examinations

11. PRESCRIBED TEXT AND OTHER RESOURCES

Ross, Ysaiah and MacFarlane, Peter; Lawyers' Responsibility and Accountability (4thed, 2011)
Butterworths, Sydney 2007. (Note that the required edition is the fourth edition of the text which
was published in November 2011).

This book should available for sale in the bookshop on Emalus and Laucala Campuses and is also
available for purchase at the online LexisNexis store: http://www.lexisnexis.com/store/au/

You will also find copies in your campus library. Additional required readings will be posted on
Moodle.

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12. RULES OF CONDUCT AND CODES OF ETHICS

A copy of the International Bar Association on the “International Principles on Conduct for the Legal
Professions (IBA International Principles)” is included in the Readings folder.

You should also make an effort to obtain a copy of the legislation relevant to your home
jurisdiction (for example Legal Practitioners Act and its rules) and Rules of Conduct (if any) that
exists in your own jurisdiction. For example, for Fiji, the relevant legislative provisions are found in
the 2009 Fiji Legal Practitioners Act which is available on PacLII or on the Fiji Laws Online Page.

The relevant and important legislation required for students can be accessed online on Pacific
Islands Legal Information Institute (PacLII) on www.paclii.org.vu (in Vanuatu) or http://www.paclii.org
(outside of Vanuatu).

You can access course information and materials at its Moodle site. If you have any general
difficulties, contact your lecturer; for technical issues, contact moodlehelp@usp.ac.fj

13. ALIGNMENT OF LEARNING OUTCOMES, ACTIVITIES AND ASSESSMENT

The following table demonstrates the alignment of the course learning outcomes to appropriate
activities and assessments and the links to program and USP graduate outcomes.

Course Associated Teaching and Assessment Program

Learning Learning Activities Outcomes
Outcome

I and II Topic 1-3 Writing Assignment I-V

I - VII Tutorial Activities Contribution to I - VI
tutorial activities
and forums
V - VII Topics 4 Writing Assignment I - VI

1 - VI Pre-exam revision Final Exam I-V

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14. ASSESSMENT

15.1 ASSESSMENT PORTFOLIO

TYPE OF ASSESSMENT WEIGHT COMMENTS/RATIONALE LEARNIN

G
OUTCOM
E

CONTINOUS ASSESSMENT = 50% FINAL EXAMS= 50%

The facts for this Assignment will be released to students
on 20 March, 2024. Students write a letter as a Legal Officer
Writing Topic 15% of the Legal Practitioners Unit of no more than 2000 words. I-V
This l will be due at 5pm (Fiji Time) on 5/4/24 on the
Moodle portal.

Students will be assessed on their weeklycontribution

to the Online Forums for those Online Students ONLY
Tutorial and or your attendance and contribution in Tutorials for
Forum 15% F2Fstudents. Students will be required to consider real life
Participati issues arising in thepractice of law and how legal ethics and I-V

on professional responsibility deal with and manage those

issues. Tutorials allow students to gain an understanding
of how to use statute and case law in dealing with those
issues. They also allow students to work with other
students in the class and to develop their advocacy skills
through participation in individual, small and large group
problem solving exercises.
The facts for this Moot will be released to students on 03
April, 2024. Students will be assigned a role as either LPU
ILSC Moot 20% Prosecutor or Defence Counsel for the Accused lawyer. I, II, IV,
Write submissions of no more than 1000 words on behalf V.
Written Skills 10% of the client you have been assigned to represent.
Advocacy Skills 10%
Written submissions due on 22/4/24 at 5pm Fiji Time
within the Moodle Dropbox. This is worth 10%.
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 For F2F students, the Moot Hearing and oral submissions
will be conducted through out Week 9 (29/4/24 – 3/5/24)
at Statham Campus for those F2F in Fiji, or at Emalus
Campus for those in Vanuatu.

Online students will be required to upload a video to

Goodle Drive on Moodle in which they will be presenting
their Moot Hearing oral submissions.

This is testing your Advocacy skills and will be worth

10%.
Final Exams 50% Students will be examined on the different modules that I - IV
will be taught to them
throughout the Semester.

Further outline on the Assessments can be seen on Schedule 1 of this document.

15.2 PASSING THE UNIT

In order to be awarded a pass in this unit, students must:

✓ achieve an overall mark of at least 50% in the course;

✓ attend at least 60% of tutorials (F2F); and
✓ Achieve a minimum mark of at least (20/55) in the final exam.

15.3 : GRADE DISTRIBUTION

A+ A B+ B C+ C D E
85-100 78-84 71-77 64-70 57-63 50-56 40-49 0-39

15.4 ASSESSMENT POLICIES AND REGULATIONS

For detailed regulations, please refer to the USP Handbook and Calendar.
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 Plagiarism, copying materials from other sources without proper referencing and acknowledge
of the source is a serious offence and will be dealt with severely. In the Regulations Governing
Academic Misconduct section of the USP Handbook &Calendar plagiarism is defined as “the
copying of another person’s creative work and using it as one’s own – without explicitly giving
credit to the original creator. Work copied without acknowledgement from a book, from another
student’s work, from the internet or from any other source”. If lecturer is satisfied that plagiarism has
occurred, they will report the matter to the Head of School. They can reduce marks appropriately.
If the matter is seen as serious enough it can be taken to the Student Disciplinary Committee by the
Head of School.
15. IMPORTANT DATES

Assessments Due Date Weighting (%)

Week 6 on Friday
Writing Assignment 5/4/24 at 5pm Fiji 15%
Time

Tutorial and Forum Participation (weekly) 15%

WRITTEN:
Submissions due in
ILSC Moot 10%
Moodle Dropbox on
Mon 22/4/24 5pm
Fiji Time

ORAL: 10%

Throughout Week 9
from Mon 29/4/24 to
Frid 3/5/24

Final Exam Week 15 or 16 50%

16. ADDITIONAL COURSE ATTENDANCE

17.1 TUTORIALS
To be eligible to sit the final exam, students are required to attend and participate in at least 60%
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 of F2F Tutorials for F2F students. For online students, to be eligible to sit the final exam, students are
required to submit at least 60% of Online Tutorials created for online students on Moodle.
Online students will be assessed weekly on the quality of your tutorial activity submissions. Online
students’ tutorial submissions will be graded.

A separate contribution/discussion forum will also be created for online students. Participation
in the discussion forum is encouraged, as it is a wonderful learning tool. But this participation will
not be graded. Detailed instructions for online students on how the tutorials, discussion forum and
other assignments are to be done will be provided on Moodle. Online students are urged to
review these instructions carefully, in addition to instructions provided in this Course Guide.

17.2 ONLINE WORK

Face-to-face lectures will be recorded using the lecture capture system where available. Audio
only recordings are also available on Moodle for students that cannot access the lecture capture
recordings. This course focuses on building practical skills for the legal profession and it is
expected that online students participate in the course each week, and on time.

17. STUDENT SUPPORT

18.1 FACULTY STUDENT LEARNING SUPPORT (SLS) SERVICES

The Faculty of Arts, Law and Education (FALE) provides student learning support. More
information can be found at http://www.usp.ac.fj/index.php?id=9505

18.2 STUDY GROUPS

Most people find it easier to study in a group or with a friend, at least for part of the time. Working
with others helps to motivate us. It provides a shared goal and reduces feelings of isolation or
boredom. Your local USP Campus or Centre will be able to put you in touch with students doing
this course and may help you get organized.

With group study is encouraged, tutorial submissions, quiz and assignments must be submitted
individually and must be the student’s work alone. USP policy on plagiarism will be strictly
applied. USP policy on delay will also be strictly applied.

18.3 LIBRARY SERVICES

Making good use of the library and its resources is vital for you to be a successful student. Learn

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 about library support and services and the importance of information literacy at your local USP
Campus or Centre library.

18.4 PACLII
This is another great resources that is available to the students to use in terms offending cases
and legislations.

18. EXPECTATIONS OF STUDENTS

19.1 STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES

Students are expected to:
Spend enough time on Moodle and other activities required in the course. Take ownership of their learning.
Read this course outline and related University regulations/
Access and consult the relevant legislations on Pacific Islands Legal Information Institute
(PacLII).
Attend all lectures and tutorials and for online students, you must submit tutorial assignments and
participate in the online coffee chats.
Check student email and Moodle daily for announcements.
Download course materials from Moodle as soon as possible and store them
securely.Inform Moodle technicians of any issues with the course’s Moodle site. Read
assigned materials thoroughly and complete assigned activities.

Allocate sufficient time to complete learning activities and to review materials weekly.
Proactively seek the assistance and student support for difficulties with the course.

With respect to assessments, students are expected to:

Read Further Information and Rules on Assessment for information on the submission
of assignments, the use of Turn-It-In, plagiarism and academic misconduct, the late
assignments policy, the anticipated availability of course work marks, and final grades
Submit assignments on time, ideally before the due date, in the required manner; where
lecturersrequire Moodle submissions, the appropriate drop box should be used.
Adhere to the School’s Referencing Guide and the Late Assignments Policy Complete
USP Plagiarism Statement with their submissions.
In cases of requesting an extension, send a request to the Course Coordinator for an approval in
a timely manner and must be done before the deadline (not on the last day) by providing
documentary evidence.

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 Confirm Moodle submissions.
Keep back-up copies for all assessment drafts in more than one storage devices

All communications between staff and students should be polite and cordial. Students contacting
staff or administrators by email or Moodle are expected to write in a polite, clear and modestly formal
manner. Staff should be addressed by their appropriate title and messages should be written in letter
format, rather than like text messages. While students may request feedback from their lecturers on
assessments, it is inappropriate to contact lecturers and make representations about exam
performance. Communications outlining to lecturers the consequences for a student of receiving one
grade or another, or any lobbying about grade recheck requests, are highly inappropriate.

19.2 STUDENT WORKLOAD

TYP Hours Comments

E
Attending F2F classes or 38 12 weeks x 3 hours (2 hour lecture + 1 hour tutorial)
Online Forums
Reading Moodle materials 52 12 weeks x 4 hours of reading

Writing Assignment 30 Week 6

Moot 20 Week 9 (Writing Skills) and Week 10 (Advocacy Skills)

Final exam preparation 20
TOTAL 160

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SCHEDULE 1: FURTHER ASSESSMENT INSTRUCTIONS

Assessment 1 : Writing Assignment

Due Date : Week 6, on 5 April, 2024

Weight : 15%

Instructions :

The facts for this Assignment will be released to students on Moodle on 20 March , 2024. A scenario
will be given consisting of facts given by a client who is complaining about their lawyer and the poor
services provided by the law firm.

Students must analyze the facts given and draft a letter to the Chief Registrar of Pasifika giving advice
on any legal ethic breaches, if formal charges must be drafted against the offending lawyer and if so
what section of the law has been breached and what evidence is required to successfully prosecute.

This will be due at 5pm Fiji Time on 5 April, 2024.

All letters must be submitted in the Assignment submission portal that will be created on the Legal
Ethics page on Moodle. Students must use the font, Times New Roman with the font size of 12.Students
must also use the line spacing of 1.5 throughout their letter.

Assessment 2 : Tutorial or Online Forum Participation

Weight : 15%
Due Date : Weekly

Instructions : As per below:

F2F Students

To be eligible to sit the final exam, face to face students are required to attend and participate in at least
60% of the F2F Tutorials. Bring a printed copy of your tutorial answers to class each week and a red pen.
If you do not bring a copy of your answers, it will be understood that you have not prepared for class
and you will not receive full marks for participation, even if you contribute verbally.
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Online Students

For online students, to be eligible to sit the final exam, students are required to submit at least 60% of
Online Tutorials created for online students on Moodle. Online students will be assessed weekly on the
quality of your tutorial activity submissions. Online students’ tutorial submissions will be graded.

A separate contribution/discussion forum will also be created for online students. Participation in the
discussion forum is encouraged, as it is a wonderful learning tool. But this participation will not be
graded. Detailed instructions for online students on how the tutorials, discussion forum and other
assignments are to be done will be provided on Moodle. Online students are urged to review these
instructions carefully, in addition to instructions provided in this Course Guide.

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Marking Criteria:

LW306 : Legal Ethics- Tutorial and Forum Participation Guide

Criteria Standards of
Performance

Exceptional Superior Average Poor Unsatisfactory

Performance Performance (0-2 marks)
(9-10 marks) (3-4 marks)
(7-8 marks) (5-6 marks)

Tutorial High quality Regular Little indication Inconsistent Participation virtually

preparation participation preparation. of preparation. preparation. non-existent.
and based upon Either a lot of Limited active Misses the point
Little, if any,
participation thorough participation of participation in to questions.
preparation apparent.
preparation. variable quality discussions.
Answers are Unable to answer
or less
Evidence of a Generally needs unclear, questions or to clarify
participation but
clear prompting in disjointed, and vague or ambiguous
good quality.
understanding of order to be able illogical. No answers.
issues. High Demonstrates to answer apparent Obvious lack of
analytical skills. reasonable questions. attempt to commitment to the
Able to cross relate comprehension Concepts and relate issues course.
issues where of issues. together.
principles may
necessary. Able to clarify not be fully
Evidence of responses if grasped or
capacity to requested. clearly
develop explained.
innovative
answers.

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Assessment 3 : ILSC Moot

Due date : Week 9

Mark : 20%

Length : 1,000 words (Submission) and 10min for Oral Arguments at Hearing

Instructions

The scenario for this Moot will be released on Moodle on 3 April 2024. An unethical lawyer has pleaded
guilty to the charges laid against them and students must file written submissions as either Prosecutor
or as counsel for the Accused. Your Course Coordinator will assign students to one of the roles.

Students will write Submissions of no more than 1000 words for the client they have been assigned to
represent by the Course Coordinator, so you will either be a Prosecutor for the Legal Practitioners Unit or as
counsel for the Accused.

Writing Skills – 10%

Your written Submissions will be due at 5pm Fiji Time on 22 April 2024. All written submissions must
be put in the Moot Dropbox portal that will be created on the Legal Ethics page on Moodle. This will
be worth 10% of your final grade.

Students must use the font, Times New Roman with the font size of 12. Students must also use the line spacingof
1.5 throughout their Submissions,.

Advocacy/Oral Skills – 10%

To test students Advocacy skills, an oral submission will done throughout Week 9 at Statham Campus
or Emalus Campus from 29/4/24 to 3/5/24 (for F2F students). A sign-up sheet will be made available
on Moodle so students can select a hearing time suitable to their schedule.

For online students, they will be required to upload a video by depositing the video into a Google Drive
that will be located on Moodle. The video should consist of their oral arguments, which should be no
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more than 10min.

Each student will be given only 10 minutes to submit arguments for their assigned client based on the
written Submissions they had filed within the Moodle Dropbox. Further details for how the Advocacy
exercise will be conducted for online students will be provided closer to the date, while providing
ample time for the students to prepare.

Please note if you filed Submissions as Prosecutor, then at the Hearing you will act for the Registrar
(LPU). If you were assigned to act as counsel for the Accused, then at the Moot Hearing you appear for
the Defense. This will be worth 10% of your final grade.

For F2F students, a sign up sheet for Moot Hearing dates will be posted on Moodle. Students are to
select a timeslot suitable to their schedule. Each time slot will be for 20mins only and students may lose
marks if they exceed the time allocation.

For online students, such a sign up sheet is not needed as each student will be uploading a video making
their presentation by the deadline.

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