Overview
In this unit you will explore professional and personal conduct in respect of a practitioner’s duty to the law, the courts, clients and fellow practitioners. You will gain knowledge of the principles relating to the holding of money on trust, practitioner professional conduct rules and ethical principles governing the legal profession. This unit meets the Legal Practitioners Admissions Board requirements for ethics and professional responsibility.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
Co-requisite: LAWS11057.
Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).
Offerings For Term 2 - 2026
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.
Class Timetable
Assessment Overview
Assessment Grading
This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of 'pass' in order to pass the unit. If any 'pass/fail' tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully ('pass' grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the 'assessment task' section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%). Consult the University's Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades.
All University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
You may wish to view these policies:
- Grades and Results Policy
- Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework)
- Review of Grade Procedure
- Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - Domestic Students
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - International Students
- Student Refund and Credit Balance Policy and Procedure
- Student Feedback - Compliments and Complaints Policy and Procedure
- Information and Communications Technology Acceptable Use Policy and Procedure
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
- Analyse the legislation and rules regulating professional and personal conduct in respect of a practitioner’s duty to the law, the courts, clients and fellow practitioners
- Apply the legislation, case law and rules to ethical problems encountered in legal practice
- Conduct a structured client interview in an ethical and professional manner
This unit meets the Priestley 11 requirements for the ethics and professional responsibility knowledge area.
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| 1 - Online Quiz(zes) - 20% | |||
| 2 - Practical Assessment - 30% | |||
| 3 - Examination - 50% | |||
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| 1 - Communication | |||
| 2 - Problem Solving | |||
| 3 - Critical Thinking | |||
| 4 - Information Literacy | |||
| 5 - Team Work | |||
| 6 - Information Technology Competence | |||
| 7 - Cross Cultural Competence | |||
| 8 - Ethical practice | |||
| 9 - Social Innovation | |||
| 10 - First Nations Knowledges | |||
| 11 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures | |||
Textbooks
Lawyers' Professional Responsibility
- 8th edition (2025)
- Authors: GE Dal Pont
- Law Book Co (Thomson Reuters)
- ISBN: 9780455248790
IT Resources
- CQUniversity Student Email
- Internet
- Unit Website (Moodle)
- Zoom access: microphone and webcam required
All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: Australian Guide to Legal Citation, 4th ed
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
a.capuano@cqu.edu.au
Week 1
Begin Date: 13 Jul 2026Module/Topic
Introduction to the Unit and Legal Skills
Chapter
Activities as set out in the week 1 study guide. This is a good opportunity for students to get a head start on reading for subsequent weeks.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 2
Begin Date: 20 Jul 2026Module/Topic
Accountability & Responsibility
Chapter
GE Dal Pont, Lawyers' Professional Responsibility (2025, 8th ed, Thomson Reuters) ('Dal Pont'), ch 1.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 3
Begin Date: 27 Jul 2026Module/Topic
History, Structure & Regulation
Chapter
Peter MacFarlane and Ysaiah Ross, Ethics, Professional Responsibility and Legal Practice (2017, LexisNexis) ('MacFarlane and Ross'), ch 2 (available online through the CQU library)
Dal Pont, ch 20.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 4
Begin Date: 03 Aug 2026Module/Topic
Admission
Chapter
Dal Pont, ch 2.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 5
Begin Date: 10 Aug 2026Module/Topic
Money Matters
Chapter
Dal Pont, ch 9, 14, 15 and 16.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 6
Begin Date: 17 Aug 2026Module/Topic
Discipline
Chapter
Dal Pont, ch 23, 24 and 25.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Vacation Week
Begin Date: 24 Aug 2026Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 7
Begin Date: 31 Aug 2026Module/Topic
Duties of Representation
Chapter
Dal Pont, ch 3, 4 and 13.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 8
Begin Date: 07 Sep 2026Module/Topic
Communication & Control
Chapter
MacFarlane and Ross, ch 9.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 9
Begin Date: 14 Sep 2026Module/Topic
Competence & Care
Chapter
Dal Pont, ch 5, 10 and 22.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 10
Begin Date: 21 Sep 2026Module/Topic
Confidentiality
Chapter
Dal Pont, ch 10, 11 and 12.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 11
Begin Date: 28 Sep 2026Module/Topic
Conflicts of Interest
Chapter
Dal Pont, ch 6, 7 and 8.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 12
Begin Date: 05 Oct 2026Module/Topic
The Adversarial System
Chapter
Dal Pont, ch 17, 18, 19 and 21.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Exam Week
Begin Date: 12 Oct 2026Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Vacation/Exam Week
Begin Date: 19 Oct 2026Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
1 Online Quiz(zes)
Task Description
The quiz will be of 40 min duration consisting of questions from each of the weeks 2 through to and including week 6.
The quiz will be in multiple-choice format. It is a complex quiz with each choice potentially involving multiple elements.
You will receive a mark out of 20 representing 20% of your grade for this unit. You are allowed one attempt.
The quiz will be held in week 7 on Thursday 3 September 2026 at a time to be set. More information will be provided on the unit's Moodle page.
This assessment requires students to adhere to the guidelines on the use of artificial intelligence tools as specified in the Artificial Intelligence Assessment Scale (AIAS). Any misuse or lack of disclosure regarding the use of AI tools will be considered a breach of academic integrity. The use of AI tools or technology is prohibited in the completion of this assignment (level 1). You must not use AI tools or technology whatsoever.
Extensions are not available for this assessment. Due to the need to provide prompt feedback to students and the content of feedback provided, submissions received after the assessment has been released cannot be accepted for academic integrity reasons. Students seeking extensions will be required to undertake a different version of the assessment task.
This assessment must be submitted by the specified due date and time. Due to the nature of this task, the standard 72-hour grace period does not apply.
Week 7 Thursday (3 Sept 2026) 11:45 pm AEST
The time of the quiz will be set
Week 8 Thursday (10 Sept 2026)
Student results will be available in Moodle after completing the quiz
- Knowledge and understanding of unit content
- Application of law and legal principles
- Analyse the legislation and rules regulating professional and personal conduct in respect of a practitioner’s duty to the law, the courts, clients and fellow practitioners
2 Practical Assessment
Task Summary
This assessment has two parts. (1) the interviews; and (2) writing your reflection based on the interviews. In this assessment you will join two other students and form a group of three students. The Unit Coordinator will provide a set of instructions once the groups are finalised. In those instructions you are given details about three client interviews. You are to conduct these interviews in your group of three. In one interview you will play the client, then in the next interview the lawyer and then in the third interview the observer. As an observer you will write notes and reflect upon the performance of the student who plays the lawyer/interviewer. Students are to conduct the interviews via zoom and record the sessions.
You will submit the reflection via Moodle. Each interview should take 15-20 minutes to complete. It is suggested that the three interviews be conducted in a one hour-long session.
Students are to record the session on Zoom and share the recording with all group members using the University's cloud storage services. A link to the recording must be included in each student's submission.
Each student will be graded on their written reflection of their experience as the client, lawyer and observer. The reflections must be submitted as a single Word document and not exceed 2500 words.
This assessment requires students to adhere to the guidelines on the use of artificial intelligence tools as specified in the Artificial Intelligence Assessment Scale (AIAS). Any misuse or lack of disclosure regarding the use of AI tools will be considered a breach of academic integrity. The use of AI tools or technology is prohibited in the completion of this assignment (level 1). You must not use AI tools or technology to produce substantive content in any manner. You are permitted to use technology or tools that assist with spelling, grammar or formatting.
Individual extensions are not available for this assessment due to its nature as a group work assessment which involves client interviewing with other students. Students must therefore complete the client interviewing, and upload their recording to their student cloud storage (such as OneDrive, Drive, etc), by the end of week 7 of term. The timestamped uploaded recording will be evidence of compliance, or non-compliance, with these requirements.
This assessment must be submitted by the specified due date and time. Due to the nature of this task, the standard 72-hour grace period does not apply.
Week 8 Friday (11 Sept 2026) 5:00 pm AEST
Students must submit their written reflections online via Moodle
Week 10 Friday (25 Sept 2026)
Online via Moodle
| Criteria | High Distinction – Excellent 85-100% | Distinction – Very good 75-84% | Credit – Good 65-74% | Pass – Satisfactory 50-64% | Fail – poor <50% (less than |
|
Clarity, Presentation and Communication - 10 marks |
The language is advanced and sophisticated. There are almost no errors of expression. | The language is clear. The reflection is easy to read and follow. There are few errors of expression. | Language is generally clear but there are some parts which are hard to read. There are errors of expression which are minor but frequent. | Language is not clear but it is still readable with some significant errors of expression. | Language and grammar is unclear and confusing throughout. This makes the work hard to read and understand. Did not proofread/edit |
|
Reflection/Analysi s - 20 marks |
Addresses all of the content in a comprehensive way. Supporting material is appropriately referred to throughout displaying a thorough/ excellent knowledge of the material. | Addresses all of the content in a thorough way. Supporting material is appropriately referred to throughout displaying a very good knowledge of the material. | Addresses all of the content outlined in the instructions. Comments are adequate and the supporting material is generally referred to appropriately. There are some errors or omissions | Made an attempt to address the content outlined in the instructions. However it was superficial in major parts. Does not refer to any of the supporting material. Alternatively referred to one or two references. | Does not address the content outlined in the instructions. Where the content is addressed it is superficial. |
Reference see: Assessment rubrics | The University of Edinburgh
- Analyse the legislation and rules regulating professional and personal conduct in respect of a practitioner’s duty to the law, the courts, clients and fellow practitioners
- Apply the legislation, case law and rules to ethical problems encountered in legal practice
- Conduct a structured client interview in an ethical and professional manner
Examination
Law dictionaries, Business and Law dictionaries (discipline specific dictionaries) are authorised.
As a CQUniversity student you are expected to act honestly in all aspects of your academic work.
Any assessable work undertaken or submitted for review or assessment must be your own work. Assessable work is any type of work you do to meet the assessment requirements in the unit, including draft work submitted for review and feedback and final work to be assessed.
When you use the ideas, words or data of others in your assessment, you must thoroughly and clearly acknowledge the source of this information by using the correct referencing style for your unit. Using others’ work without proper acknowledgement may be considered a form of intellectual dishonesty.
Participating honestly, respectfully, responsibly, and fairly in your university study ensures the CQUniversity qualification you earn will be valued as a true indication of your individual academic achievement and will continue to receive the respect and recognition it deserves.
As a student, you are responsible for reading and following CQUniversity’s policies, including the Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure. This policy sets out CQUniversity’s expectations of you to act with integrity, examples of academic integrity breaches to avoid, the processes used to address alleged breaches of academic integrity, and potential penalties.
What is a breach of academic integrity?
A breach of academic integrity includes but is not limited to plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, cheating, contract cheating, and academic misconduct. The Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure defines what these terms mean and gives examples.
Why is academic integrity important?
A breach of academic integrity may result in one or more penalties, including suspension or even expulsion from the University. It can also have negative implications for student visas and future enrolment at CQUniversity or elsewhere. Students who engage in contract cheating also risk being blackmailed by contract cheating services.
Where can I get assistance?
For academic advice and guidance, the Academic Learning Centre (ALC) can support you in becoming confident in completing assessments with integrity and of high standard.
What can you do to act with integrity?
