Ethical Deliberation Questionnaire
Legal practitioners frequently encounter difficult ethical issues or problems in their work. Acting on issues in haste or with inadequate consideration can have significant and unfortunate consequences for lawyers and their clients.
Full consideration of an ethical issue can assist you to:
- determine the best course of action in the situation
- explain to an investigator, if that becomes necessary, the reasoning process that led you to adopt the particular course of action
This questionnaire provides practical assistance, through a step-by-step process of working through an ethical problem, but does not comprise legal advice.
It also incorporates links to resources and additional information.
Acknowledgements
In developing these questions, the Queensland Law Society drew substantially on the following source:
Michael Robertson and Kieran Tranter ‘Learning and Teaching about the Ethical Dimension in Lawyering: a Curriculum Approach that Emphasises Discretion and Choice in the Lawyer’s Role’ (Paper presented at the Professional Ethics and Personal Integrity Conference, Legal Ethics Conference, University of Auckland, June 2006).
Queensland Law Society would also like to thank Sue Jefferies for her assistance in the development of the questions.
