As a solicitor you act for your client, but your professional obligations reach well beyond them. Every day you communicate with opponents, deal with people who have no lawyer, rely on undertakings from other firms, and handle witnesses, experts and confidential material. The law and the Code set firm limits on how you treat these third parties — and getting them wrong can mean regulatory action, personal liability, or losing your right to practise. Knowing where the line sits lets you fight hard for your client while staying safely on the right side of it.
What this lesson covers:
- Overview and Unfair Advantage — the four sources of your duties to non-clients and the rule against taking unfair advantage.
- Communications and the Duty Not to Mislead — how to communicate properly and why even technically true statements can mislead.
- Undertakings — what counts as an undertaking, why it personally binds you, and the consequences of breach.
- Tortious Duty of Care to Third Parties — when negligence law makes you answerable to people you don't act for, especially will beneficiaries.
- Witnesses and Experts — preparing witnesses without coaching, and dealing properly with experts who owe their duty to the court.
- Confidential Information and Fees — misused confidential material, documents sent by mistake, and liability for agents' fees.