Legal Ethics, Professional Responsibility and Practice Management
What this domain tests
Legal ethics and practice management tests the duties owed by a legal practitioner to the court, client, profession and public, and the business controls needed in a lawful practice.
Core rules
- The Legal Practitioners Act and Malawi Law Society rules govern admission, practice, discipline and professional conduct.
- Duties to the court include candour, not misleading the court and not abusing process. Duties to the client include competence, confidentiality, loyalty, avoiding conflicts and keeping the client informed.
- Client money must be held in a separate trust account and not mixed with office money. Proper records, receipts and reconciliations are required.
- Fees must be disclosed and agreed; contingency arrangements must comply with the rules. Undertakings are binding and must be honoured.
- Conflicts of interest must be identified and avoided or managed with informed consent where permitted.
- Practice management includes engagement letters, file supervision, diary systems, confidentiality controls and succession planning.
Worked example
A lawyer is asked to act for both the seller and buyer in a land sale. Their interests potentially conflict over title, price and completion. Acting for both is improper unless the conflict is trivial and both clients give informed consent. If a dispute arises, the lawyer must cease acting and protect both clients' confidences.
Traps
Do not disclose client confidences without authority or legal compulsion. Do not commingle trust money. Do not give an undertaking you cannot honour. Do not act where a conflict exists merely because the client consents. Do not neglect files or allow unqualified staff to give legal advice unsupervised.