Legal ethics is (just) normal ethics: towards a coherent system of legal ethics

The standards governing how lawyers ought to conduct themselves consist of a number disparate principles and rules, which are devoid of an overarching rationale. We argue that legal ethics is not a stand-alone social construct. Rather, it is the application of normal ethical principles so far as they relate to the law. Approached in this manner, legal ethics becomes a far more coherent and justifiable institution. In this paper we apply general moral theory to several key dilemmas facing lawyers. This results in outcomes which some may find counter-intuitive. We conclude that lawyers should not do pro bono work; that the first cab rank off the rank principle is unsound and that there is no relevant difference between expressly misleading the court and putting the other side to the proof of its case.

Preparing Australia's future lawyers: an exposition of changing values over time in the context of teaching about ethical dilemmas

This study investigated what values may be influential to decision making in relation to ethical behaviour for early career lawyers. It adopted a longitudinal approach to investigate how values develop or degrade over time as final year law students move into their first two years of employment or further study. To this end, the study investigated the role that tertiary education and employers fulfill in building and perpetuating ‘appropriate’ professional values? Results demonstrate that, in general, ethical behaviour was not uniformly reinforced over time in the workplace. The undertaking of pro bono work stands out here. Results suggested that certain behaviour relevant values may develop or degrade over the early years of the Australian lawyer's career. The implications of results are discussed in the contexts of ethics education in a tertiary context and the continuing education and regulation of the legal profession.

Lawyers and ethics in practice : the impact of clinical and ethics curricula on lawyers’ ethical decision-making

The authors have conducted a longitudinal study exploring the relationships between values and ethical behaviour for early-career legal practitioners. The study comprised a representative Australian cohort of final-year law students and tracked them through their first two years of employment or further study. It examined changes to ethical decision-making by presenting participants with hypothetical scenarios that provided ethical dilemmas. A questionnaire utilising hypothetical situations was presented in 11 scenarios. This chapter examines responses to the scenarios across the three years of the study, particularly exploring changes over time. Of particular interest were the effects of gender and prior ethics education on changing responses. Findings suggested significant differences between males and females in their ethical responses. They also suggested that involvement in clinical practice, in particular during the law degree, may have a positive impact on future willingness to assist access to justice (insofar as such lawyers were more inclined to participate in later pro bono activity).

Engaging Deakin's international students in ongoing English language development

Universities in Australia, as with universities in the US and UK, are required more and more to adjust to student cohorts which represent a range of national, cultural and linguistic diversity. Many are concerned about the readiness of these students for study in an English-speaking medium and about their subsequent experiences and success. This presentation reports on the outcomes of “The English Language Growth” project, conducted across five Australian universities. This study, funded by the Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC), represents the largest of its type in Australia. The project investigated the strategies that international students from non-English speaking backgrounds use to continue to improve their English once entering a university in Australia.

Three phases of the Pacific Islands Project (1995–2010)

The Pacific Islands Project (PIP), funded by AusAid and managed by the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS), has progressed through three phases from 1995 to 2010. During this time, it has sent over 520 teams to 11 Pacific Island Countries, providing over 60 000 consultations and some 16 000 procedures. In addition to this delivery of specialist medical and surgical services that were not previously available in-country, the project has contributed as a partner in capacity building with the Fiji School of Medicine and Ministries of Health of the individual nations. By 2011, Fiji School of Medicine, which began postgraduate specialist training in 1998, had awarded 51 doctors a diploma in surgery (1 year), 20 of whom had completed their Masters in Medicine (4 years). PIP was independently evaluated on completion of every phase, including the bridging Phase III (2006–2010). The project delivered on its design, to deliver services, and also helped build capacity. The relationship established with the RACS throughout the project allowed Pacific Island graduates to access the Rowan Nicks scholarship, and the majority of MMed graduates received International Travel Grants to attend the Annual Scientific Meeting. PIP has been a highly successful partnership in delivering and building specialist medical services. Although AusAid contributed some $20 million over 16 years, the value added from pro bono contributions by Specialist Teams, Specialty Coordinators and the Project Directors amounted to an equivalent amount. With the emergence of Pacific Island-trained specialists, PIP is ready to move into a new phase where the agendas are set, monitored and managed within the Pacific, and RACS fulfils the role of a service provider. A critical mass of Pacific Island surgeons has been trained, so that sub-specialization will be an option for the general surgeons of the larger island nations.

Movement patterns for a critically endangered species, the Leatherback Turtle (Dermochelys coriacea), linked to foraging success and population status

Foraging success for pelagic vertebrates may be revealed by horizontal and vertical movement patterns. We show markedly different patterns for leatherback turtles in the North Atlantic versus Eastern Pacific, which feed on gelatinous zooplankton that are only occasionally found in high densities. In the Atlantic, travel speed was characterized by two modes, indicative of high foraging success at low speeds (<15 km d−1) and transit at high speeds (20–45 km d−1). Only a single mode was evident in the Pacific, which occurred at speeds of 21 km d−1 indicative of transit. The mean dive depth was more variable in relation to latitude but closer to the mean annual depth of the thermocline and nutricline for North Atlantic than Eastern Pacific turtles. The most parsimonious explanation for these findings is that Eastern Pacific turtles rarely achieve high foraging success. This is the first support for foraging behaviour differences between populations of this critically endangered species and suggests that longer periods searching for prey may be hindering population recovery in the Pacific while aiding population maintenance in the Atlantic.

Activity of cabazitaxel in castration-resistant prostate cancer progressing after docetaxel and next-generation endocrine agents

Background Cabazitaxel, abiraterone, and enzalutamide are survival-prolonging treatments in men with castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) progressing following docetaxel chemotherapy. The sequential activity of these agents has not been studied and treatment sequencing remains a key dilemma for clinicians. Objective To describe the antitumour activity of cabazitaxel after docetaxel and next-generation endocrine agents. Design, setting, and participants We report on a cohort of 59 men with progressing CRPC treated with cabazitaxel, 37 of whom had received prior abiraterone and 9 of whom had received prior enzalutamide. Outcome measurements and statistical analysis Changes in prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level were used to determine activity on abiraterone, enzalutamide, and cabazitaxel treatment. Radiologic tumour regressions according to Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) and symptomatic benefit were evaluated for cabazitaxel therapy. Results and limitations The post-endocrine-therapy patients received abiraterone (n = 32), sequential abiraterone and enzalutamide (n = 5) or enzalutamide (n = 4). These patients received a median of 7 mo of abiraterone and 11 mo of enzalutamide. A median of six cabazitaxel cycles (range: 1-10 cycles) were delivered, with ≥50% PSA declines in 16 of 41 (39%) patients, soft tissue radiologic responses in 3 of 22 (14%) evaluable patients, and symptomatic benefit in 9 of 37 evaluable patients (24%). Median overall survival and progression-free survival were 15.8 and 4.6 mo, respectively. Antitumor activity on cabazitaxel was less favourable in the abiraterone- and enzalutamide-naïve cohort (n = 18), likely reflecting biologic differences in this cohort. These data were obtained from a retrospective analysis. Conclusions This is the first report of cabazitaxel activity in CRPC progressing after treatment with docetaxel and abiraterone or enzalutamide. We demonstrate significant cabazitaxel activity in this setting. Patient summary We looked at the antitumour activity of the chemotherapy drug cabazitaxel in men previously treated with docetaxel chemotherapy and the hormonal drugs abiraterone and enzalutamide. Cabazitaxel appeared active when given after abiraterone and enzalutamide. We can reassure men that cabazitaxel can be used after these novel endocrine treatments. © 2013 European Association of Urology.