Assuming that you are a lawyer, evaluate how ethical demands from within society coupled withturbulent changes taking place within the marketspace can clash with the demands of being successful in your career?

TASK DESCRIPTION – ASSIGNMENT 1 (Individual essay30%)

TASK 1

Lawyers falling short on ethics – study

Six in 10 solicitors, barristers and law students say they find it hard to ‘do the right thing’.  Many lawyers fall short on ethical behaviour, according to a report into professional standards which found that nearly one in six would accept guidance from a colleague to round up their billing hours.

The study by the University of Birmingham’s Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues also concluded that 60% of solicitors, barristers and law students questioned found it hard to “do the right thing”.

The study suggests more time should be dedicated to educating undergraduates in moral values. Nearly 1,000 people took part in surveys and interviews. Assuming that you are a lawyer, evaluate how ethical demands from within society coupled withturbulent changes taking place within the marketspace can clash with the demands of being successful in your career?

The report suggested that 16% of solicitors would be prepared to accept guidance from a colleague to “round up” billing hours, allowing them to charge customers more, even if this may be regarded as fraudulent. As many as 5% of experienced solicitors, the research discovered, would not report misuse of clients’ accounts. Judgment and honesty were considered to be important for a good lawyer by 84% of solicitors and 93% of barristers.

Commenting on the findings, Professor Hywel Thomas, one of the principal investigators for the project, said: “While the legal profession is not in moral crisis, there is concern within the sector that not all members of the profession have an understanding of morally good practice.”“With greater competition and recent cuts to the Legal Aid budget adding to demands on the moral character of lawyers, this understanding of ethical practice is more important than ever.“Our research suggests a requirement for greater focus on ethics within undergraduate law courses and on senior role models in informal work-place learning.”

The report recommends a review of ethics education within the legal profession.

(Source: https://www.theguardian.com/law/2014/nov/25/lawyers-falling-short-ethics-study)

This task addresses LOs 1 and 2.

TASK DESCRIPTION: Individual Report (70%)

BACKGROUND / INTRODUCTION

This part of the assignment is testing your understanding of Los 3, 4 and 5 by apply in the to the questions below. You are therefore required to write a report based on those three questions. You will be assessed on your content, research / referencing, application of legal rules, analysis / application and presentation skills. 

TASKS

Individual Report – 2000 words – 60% (LOs 3, 4 & 5.)

a)      Assuming that you are a lawyer, evaluate how ethical demands from within society coupled withturbulent changes taking place within the marketspace can clash with the demands of being successful in your career?

b)       What are the underpinning philosophical theories that inform professional advice and guidance in a lawyer’s conduct? 

c)      What are the relevant MIS development and acquisition approaches used in acquiring relevant systems for organizations in today’s world?

These tasks address LOs 3, 4 and 5

LENGTH 2000 words

Please note the following when completing your written assignment:

1. Writing: Written in English in an appropriate business/academic style
2. Focus: Focus only on the tasks set in the assignment.
3. Formatting:Report
4. Ensure a clear title, course, and name or ID number is on a cover sheet and a bibliography using Harvard referencing throughout is also provided.
5. Research: Research should use reliable and relevant sources of information e.g. academic books and journals that have been peer reviewed. The research should be extensive.

The use of a range of information sources is expected – academic books, peer reviewed journal articles, professional articles, press releases and newspaper articles, reliable statistics, company annual reports and other company information. All referencing should be in the Harvard style.