Professional Ethics

Question 1

Define ethics

Answer 1

Moral principles that govern a person’s behaviour or the conducting of an activity - Oxford English Dictionary

Question 2

Why are professional ethics important?

Answer 2

Lawyers can be confronted with a very wide range of difficult situations where it isn’t always obvious what the “right” course of action would be

Not practical to have a rule book for lawyers which attempts to give specific direction for every situation

Professional ethics provide lawyers with guidance which the lawyer can apply to the specific situation