Lawyers and Conveyancers Act (Lawyers: Conduct and Client Care) Rules 2008

Duties of defence lawyer

13.13

A defence lawyer must protect his or her client so far as is possible from being convicted (except upon admissible evidence sufficient to support a conviction for the offence with which the client is charged) and in doing so must—

(a)

put the prosecution to proof in obtaining a conviction regardless of any personal belief or opinion of the lawyer as to his or her client’s guilt or innocence; and

(b)

put before the court any proper defence in accordance with his or her client’s instructions—

but must not mislead the court in any way.

13.13.1

When taking instructions from a client, including instructions on a plea and whether or not to give evidence, a defence lawyer must ensure that his or her client is fully informed on all relevant implications of his or her decision and the defence lawyer must then act in accordance with the client’s instructions.

13.13.2

If at any time before or during a defended trial a client makes a clear confession of guilt to his or her defence lawyer, the lawyer may continue to act only if the plea is changed to guilty or the lawyer—

(a)

does not put forward a case inconsistent with the confession; and

(b)

continues to put the prosecution to proof and, if appropriate, asserts that the prosecution evidence is inadequate to justify a verdict of guilty; and

(c)

does not raise any matter that suggests the client has an affirmative defence such as an alibi, but may proceed with a defence based on a special case such as insanity, if such a course appears in the lawyer’s professional opinion to be available.

13.13.3

Where a defence lawyer is told by his or her client that he or she did not commit the offence, or where a defence lawyer believes that on the facts there should be an acquittal, but for particular reasons the client wishes to plead guilty, the defence lawyer may continue to represent the client, but only after warning the client of the consequences and advising the client that the lawyer can act after the entry of the plea only on the basis that the offence has been admitted, and put forward factors in mitigation.

13.13.4

A defence lawyer must not attribute to another person the offence with which his or her client is charged unless it is necessary for the conduct of the defence to do so and the allegation is justified by facts or circumstances arising out of the evidence in the case or reasonable inferences drawn from them.

13.13.5

A defence lawyer must not disclose a client’s previous convictions without the client’s authority.