A lawyer should always stand when addressing the judge or magistrate or when the judge or magistrate addresses them. It is important to always speak from the bar table and not from the court panel. A lawyer should never speak when someone else is speaking (especially the judge or magistrate and including law enforcement). Most importantly, lawyers show kindness, especially in the face of defeat, and respond with « as your honour wishes » or « may it please your honour ». Conflicts may also arise where a solicitor is asked to represent more than one party involved in a particular case, such as co-defendants [see Australian Solicitors` Conduct Rules, Rule 11.5]. The accused successfully appealed convictions and sentences for miscarriage of justice resulting from the assistance of duty counsel [see chapter on confessions of guilt]. Unsatisfactory conduct or professional misconduct may result in adverse judicial comments on subsequent appeals, and duty counsel may be subject to disciplinary proceedings. A reputation for professional integrity and consistent reliability vis-à-vis the courts is fundamental to duty counsel`s ability to act as an effective lawyer. Maintaining an appropriate standard of professional conduct is particularly important in deciding what advice to give to a defendant or whether or not to act on behalf of a defendant [see chapter on the role of duty counsel and chapter on admissions of guilt]. It is also important that duty counsel keep complete and accurate records of all transactions with defendants during the day. This includes situations where the public defender has decided that he or she cannot counsel or represent a particular defendant [see Collie v Police [2002] SASC 109; Hatcher v. Police [2006] SASC 332re judicial comment on duty solicitor work]. A lawyer shall not knowingly or recklessly mislead the court [see Rule 19.1 of the Australian Lawyers Rules of Conduct].

While defence counsel is not required to disclose information, he or she must not mislead the court by providing false or inaccurate information or by disclosing material information [see R. v. Stamos, [2004] SASC 132 and the Role of Duty Counsel chapter]. The Legal Practitioners Act 1981 (SA) contains much of the law governing relations between clients and their lawyers, and all references in this part refer to this law. In addition, the Law Society`s Code of Professional Conduct applies to all legal practitioners. Duty counsel should always stand and look the judge or magistrate in the eye when addressing them. The appearance must be announced by the lawyer by introducing himself and presenting the party for whom he is acting. For example: « If it pleases your honour – [last name] for the defendant who is present [or not] ». When addressing the judiciary, « Your Honour » is appropriate to address men and women of justice; « Sir » is an appropriate address for male members of the judiciary, but do not use « Madam » when addressing a female member of the judiciary, as this may be considered offensive. When representing a client, a lawyer follows the legal, appropriate and competent instructions of the client [see Australian Solicitors` Conduct Rules, Rule 8]. In addition, the lawyer must represent the client`s interests in accordance with the law, without conveying or giving the appearance of the lawyer`s personal opinion on the merits [for specific obligations, see Rule 17].

ASCRs were approved by the Directors of the Law Council in June 2011 and adopted as professional rules for lawyers in South Australia, Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria (and soon Western Australia), Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory. ASCRs have been adopted in accordance with the procedures of each jurisdiction, which vary considerably. The Northern Territory currently has its own Code of Conduct. It is important that duty counsel be courteous to the court, court officials and the prosecutor`s office. Every court employee has a job to do, and it is important that duty counsel be respectful to all members of the tribunal as a matter of professional courtesy and because it makes life easier if he or she inevitably appears late in court. As court officers, all lawyers must act competently, conscientiously and transparently when dealing with the court. The conduct towards the court must be exemplary. Honesty and transparency are expected to be respected in all legal proceedings. There is a lot of literature on courtly etiquette and a variety of meanings given to the expression. This section deals with judicial etiquette in relation to the standard of conduct expected of legal practitioners when working in the judicial district and does not cover professional obligations as described in the Australian Lawyers Rules of Conduct.

Legal practitioners are expected to conduct themselves in court in such a way as to support the solemnity of the court`s position and the opportunity to hear the accused. A lawyer must correct any misleading statement made by the practitioner in court as soon as practicable after concluding that the statement was misleading [see Rule 19.2 of the Australian Lawyers Rules of Conduct]. However, a practitioner is not deemed to have made a misleading statement to a court simply by failing to correct an error in a statement made by an opponent or other person before the court [see Rule 19.3 of the Australian Lawyers Rules of Conduct]. The ASCR is a statement of lawyers` professional and ethical obligations under legislation, common law and equity. However, they also express the profession`s collective vision of the standards of behaviour expected of professionals. While this obligation has an impact on professional conduct in the client relationship, it is a global obligation and each member of the legal profession is responsible for maintaining an independent and impartial administration of justice. It is important that legal practitioners act with integrity, provide competent support to the courts and promote public confidence in the justice system. In the performance of their duties, legal practitioners are required to treat other members of the legal profession with courtesy and integrity. Following the ASCR review, further amendments to Rule 42 (Anti-discrimination and harassment) were proposed. This new revision of Rule 42 is the result of the Law Council`s National Anti-Sexual Harassment Roundtable in July 2020 and subsequent consultations that fed into the Law Council`s National Action Plan to Reduce Sexual Harassment in the Australian Bar Association (NAP). The preparation of the court appearance is of paramount importance.

In addition to the details of the case for which the lawyer is appearing, knowledge of the legal procedure is also required. A practitioner cannot act on behalf of a defendant if he or she knows that the defendant`s interest in the case is or would be contrary to his or her own interests or those of an employee. [see Rule 12.1 of the Australian Solicitors` Conduct Rules]. A conflict would arise, for example, if the victim of a crime is a relative, friend or acquaintance of the lawyer. One of the issues that emerged from the 2018-2020 comprehensive review of the ASCR was the need to clarify how to apply existing ethical principles to avoid conflicts of interest between current or current and former clients of a lawyer or law firm when providing short-term legal advisory services. For more information, please refer to Legal Council`s public consultation paper entitled Public Consultation Paper on Short-Term Assistance Services. A lawyer has a duty to provide clear and timely advice so that a client can understand the relevant legal issues and make informed decisions about what to do in a case. This includes informing the client of alternatives to an entirely contested decision that may reasonably be available to the client [see Rule 7 of the Australian Lawyers Rules of Conduct]. This involves, for example, advising an accused on the merits, especially if there is no chance of success, and advising on a reduction of penalty for an early admission of guilt [see chapter on confessions of guilt and conviction].

It is important that all lawyers are familiar with the Australian Solicitors` Conduct Rules, a copy of which is available from the Law Society of South Australia (or via the link on their website – above).