King's Inns Professional Conduct cheat sheet

Two core duties sit in tension: the duty to the court and the administration of justice, and the duty to act in the client's best interests; where they conflict, the court duty prevails.

A barrister must not act where a conflict of interest exists between two clients, or between a client and the barrister's own interest; the conflict test is applied at the point of acceptance and continues throughout the retainer.

Confidentiality survives the end of the retainer and the client's death; it is not displaced by the fact that information has entered the public domain unless it is genuinely public knowledge.

A barrister who receives information confidential to another party (for example from a former client or a solicitor acting for both sides) must not act against that party where the information is or may be relevant and the former client has not consented.

The cab-rank rule requires acceptance of a brief in a field in which the barrister practises, subject to exceptions including: insufficient experience, a conflict, a professional embarrassment, an unpaid fee dispute, or a matter outside the barrister's competence.

A barrister must not rehearse, practise or coach a witness, and must not communicate with a witness about evidence while the witness is under cross-examination; conferring about evidence before trial is permitted.

A barrister must not knowingly mislead the court, must correct an inadvertent misleading of the court at the first opportunity, and must not cite authority known to be overruled or a point known to be bad in law.

A barrister must not communicate directly with a party who is legally represented; where the party is unrepresented, communication is permitted but the barrister must not take unfair advantage and must not give the unrepresented party legal advice.

Fees: a barrister may not hold client money, may not enter into a partnership with a solicitor for the supply of advocacy, and must not accept a brief on a contingency-fee basis in a criminal matter.

Jurisdiction of the Irish courts in civil matters: the District Court hears claims generally up to €15,000; the Circuit Court up to €75,000; the High Court has unlimited jurisdiction and hears claims above the Circuit Court limit.

The Superior Court Rules govern High Court and Supreme Court practice; a plenary summons is used where facts are disputed, a summary summons where the claim is for a liquidated sum, and a special summons for specific statutory or trust applications.

Time limits: a personal injuries action must generally be commenced within two years of the date of knowledge (or the act) under the Statute of Limitations; contract claims run six years from breach, twelve years for a specialty.

A defence must be delivered within the time prescribed by the rules (commonly 28 days after service of the statement of claim); failure to deliver permits the plaintiff to apply for judgment in default.

Discovery is obtained by a motion supported by affidavit; the test is relevance and necessity - documents must be relevant and discovery must be necessary for disposing fairly of the matter or saving costs.

Interlocutory relief: an interlocutory injunction requires a fair question to be tried and the balance of convenience; the American Cyanamid test is the standard applied, with an undertaking as to damages.

Service: personal service is required for originating documents unless the rules provide otherwise; substituted service may be ordered by the court on affidavit evidence that prompt personal service is impractical.

Appeals: an appeal from the District Court lies to the Circuit Court; from the Circuit Court to the High Court; from the High Court to the Court of Appeal; the Supreme Court hears appeals from the Court of Appeal where the interests of justice so require.

Costs follow the event as a general rule; the court has discretion to award costs on a party-and-party or solicitor-and-client basis and may make a costs order against a party who has behaved unreasonably.

Contract: a binding contract requires offer, acceptance, consideration, intention to create legal relations, and certainty of terms; consideration must be sufficient but need not be adequate.

Tort: negligence requires a duty of care, breach of that duty, causation, and damage that is not too remote; the test for remoteness is reasonable foreseeability of the type of harm.

Criminal law: the prosecution must prove the actus reus and mens rea beyond reasonable doubt; the standard of proof in a criminal trial rests on the prosecution throughout.

The presumption of innocence is protected by Article 38.1 of the Constitution; the burden of proving guilt lies on the prosecution and any statutory reverse burden must be proportionate.

Evidence: hearsay is generally inadmissible in criminal proceedings, subject to statutory exceptions; the rule against similar fact evidence is subject to the exceptions of system and propensity.

Property: a lease requires certainty of term, exclusive possession, and rent (or other consideration); a licence confers personal permission and does not bind third parties.

Company law: directors owe fiduciary duties including the duty to act in good faith in the interests of the company, to avoid conflicts, and to exercise care, skill and diligence as required by the Companies Act 2014.

EU law: directly effective Treaty provisions and regulations may be relied upon before national courts; directives are directly effective against the State where the implementation deadline has passed and the provision is unconditional and sufficiently precise.

Constitutional law: legislation is presumed constitutional; the courts may strike down a statute that is repugnant to the Constitution, but the presumption of constitutionality requires the court to adopt the interpretation that saves the statute where possible.

Opening: state the issues, the facts relied on, and the evidence that will prove them; do not open on evidence that will not be called, and do not make submissions on the law in opening.

Examination-in-chief: use open questions; leading questions are permitted only on formal or non-controversial matters; the witness's evidence must come from the witness, not from the advocate.

Cross-examination: use leading and closed questions; put the client's case to the witness, and put any allegation of impropriety directly so the witness has an opportunity to respond.

Re-examination is limited to matters arising out of cross-examination; new matters may not be introduced, and leading questions are not permitted.

Objections must be made promptly and briefly; the ground must be stated (relevance, hearsay, leading, form, privilege) and the judge should be invited to rule before the answer is given where possible.

Closing submissions: address the burden and standard of proof, apply the law to the evidence, and address the weaknesses of your own case rather than ignoring them.

Conference skills: establish the client's account without leading, explain the procedure and the possible outcomes, advise on plea or settlement, and record the advice given.

Ethical limits in advocacy: an advocate must not assert personal knowledge of the facts, must not express a personal opinion on the merits, and must not make an allegation of misconduct without a proper basis.

Case theory: a single consistent theory of the case should explain the evidence, meet the opponent's best point, and be capable of being stated in one sentence to the tribunal.