Integrity, Candour and Duties to the Court and Third Parties
Candour outranks advocacy
The duty to the court and the administration of justice prevails over the client's interests. You may advance a client's case firmly, but you may not mislead the court, cite false authority, or let a client give evidence you know to be false. The same honesty standard governs dealings with opponents, witnesses and third parties.
Concepts
- No misleading: correct any misstatement of law or fact you discover, even if made innocently by you or by a witness.
- Ex parte applications: a high duty to disclose all material facts, including those against you.
- Adverse authority: research and disclose relevant binding authority; do not bury it.
- Witnesses: no coaching to give false evidence, no improper contact with represented parties, no discouraging truthful testimony.
- Undertakings: personal, strict and enforceable; given by a lawyer, they bind regardless of client instructions or payment.
- Third parties: no deceit, no threats, no misuse of confidential information to their detriment.
- Client fraud: if a client insists on a fraudulent claim or refuses to correct a known lie, withdraw (with court leave if on the record) and disclose no more privileged information than necessary.
Traps
Thinking 'zealous representation' excuses aggressive misstatement; relying on the client's assurance when you know the evidence is false; treating an undertaking as conditional on the client paying; omitting adverse facts from an ex parte affidavit; failing to correct an error because the opponent did not notice.
Rule of thumb
Before any submission, ask: 'If the judge knew everything I know, would this statement still be accurate?' If not, do not make it.