Most lawyers are very good at putting and keeping in place professional boundaries.
Nonetheless, you might be in the early stages of your career and unsure about how to approach this – or you could be a more experienced lawyer responsible for managing complex client relationships and considering whether it is a wise idea to represent someone. In either case, we have some practical tips for you about how to avoid compromising your professional boundaries.
The expectation that you will establish and maintain professional boundaries with your clients underpins many of the duties and obligations prescribed by the Legal Profession Uniform Law Australian Solicitors’ Conduct Rules 2015 (the professional conduct rules).
At a justice system level, putting in place professional boundaries enhances your ability to comply with the following:
Professional boundaries are essential limits on the way you engage with your clients and others. They include limits on appropriate times, methods and purposes of communication, and expected standards of behaviour. They matter because professional boundaries are fundamental to the following areas:
This page explains how lawyers should be mindful of their conduct around other parties, such as opposing counsel, prosecutors and police officers
This page explains the risks faced by lawyers when managing legal discussions in social settings
This page explains the risks faced by lawyers when acting for someone they in a sexual relationship with.
This page explains the risks faced by lawyers when acting for someone who is exerting significant and unreasonable pressure on them.
This page explains the risks faced by lawyers when acting for clients experiencing vulnerability
This page explains the risks faced by lawyers when acting for clients from within a community with which they identify
This page explains the risks faced by lawyers when acting for someone with whom they have a commercial relationship.
