John Briton, Queensland’s first Legal Services Commissioner, will feature as part of the high-profile speaker list at the upcoming Third International Legal Ethics conference (13-16 July), hosted by the TC Beirne School of Law at The University of Queensland and Griffith University’s Griffith Law School.
Mr Briton will be speaking on the topic of Incorporated Legal Practices – Dragging the Regulation of the Legal Profession into the Modern Era, complementing other conference topics including a panel discussion on the recent Haneef case and subsequent intense public interest; lawyer’s professional responsibilities; as well as presentations by leading judges, lawyers and legal academics making the conference a must on this year’s legal events calendar.
“Legal ethics is not about rules and codes of conduct at the end of the day, but values and how they're shaped by workplace cultures. If we're serious about improving the standards of ethical conduct within the legal profession, we'll pay serious attention to the values, attitudes, customs, management systems and supervision practices that nurture and sustain ethical conduct within law firms, or alternatively, leave it to chance or even undermine it” said Mr Briton.
“This conference has compiled a variety of discussion groups and speakers which will all highlight the importance of ethical behavior in legal practice”.
The conference has been designed to cater for both scholars and legal practitioners, with a designated "practitioners’ day", and is supported by the Queensland Law Society and the Bar Association of Queensland.