Resources for Legal Ethics and Professional Standards: Case Law

Per Andrew Phang Boon Leong JA at [1]: 

“Ethical rules are the unseen – yet vital – foundations surrounding as well as supporting every legal system. Almost imperceptibly and unnoticeably, ethical rules guide the many decisions that lawyers must make every day. Chief Justice Earl Warren of the United States Supreme Court has famously observed that “law floats in a sea of ethics” ... In a sense, ethical rules are prescriptive – they are bright beacons designed to caution lawyers against straying into and running aground upon the sharp rocks of unacceptable practices. Put simply, because of the importance of these rules to the legal system, they have normative content – they are guiding lights illuminating what it means to be a part of a noble and honourable profession and what is expected of a member of such a profession.” 

Per V K Rajah JA at [100]: 

“Ethical codes, practices and standards must be religiously observed and adhered to, as an unequivocal affirmation of and testament to the legal profession’s undivided commitment to probity, competence and diligence in the practice of the law. However, it must also be stressed that a rigid and formalistic adherence to the codes of practice without a proper appreciation of their spirit, purport, and intent may from time to time lead to ethical blindness. The legal profession must constantly and vigilantly guard itself against such lapses if it is to inspire and sustain public confidence.” 

Per V K Rajah JA at [84] and [85]: 

“It must also be recognised that ethical rules only delineate minimal standards and duties which solicitors must observe. There is much left unsaid that must be implicitly understood and observed with intelligent flexibility. Unstinting compliance with all ethical rules and practices is in the enlightened self-interest of the profession. Without such observance and effective enforcement of ethical rules, the glue that binds and distinguishes advocates and solicitors as professionals as opposed to merely self-serving businessmen will soon dissolve. A solicitor is most certainly not merely a businessman or client proxy. He is an officer of the court charged with the unique responsibility of upholding the legal system and the quality of justice … A failure by significant numbers of the legal profession to abide by and observe these ethical standards would eventually drive the entire profession down the slippery slope of ignominy.”  

Per Andrew Phang Boon Leong JA at [5]:  

“The legitimacy of the administration of justice in the eyes of the public cannot be gainsaid. Respect for the law as viewed through the lenses of the public is an indispensable element in the fabric of the system of justice. Indeed, the public constitutes the ultimate body of individuals for whose benefit the law and the legal system exist. To this end, anything which undermines public confidence in the competence and/or professionalism of lawyers must not – indeed, cannot – be permitted.” 

Per Judith Prakash JCA at [1]:  

“In the practice of law, an undertaking given by a solicitor plays the role of a cast-iron guarantee, practically a sacred vow. Once it is given, other practitioners will govern their conduct in reliance on it. Such undertakings are indispensable to the speedy and efficient transaction of legal business including the handling of litigation. Due to the respect lay persons and other lawyers accord an undertaking, its breach by the undertaking solicitor can lead to serious consequences. Breach of an undertaking is, therefore, almost invariably an act of professional misconduct.” 

Re CTA and other matters [2022[ SGHC 87 

Re Monisha Devaraj and other matters [2022] SGHC 93 

Re Tay Quan Li Leon [2022] SGHC 133 

Re Wong Wai Loong Sean and other matters [2022] SGHC 237 

These judgments related to the conduct of 11 individuals who had cheated in the Singapore Bar examinations. They were ordered to adjourn their admission applications to the Singapore Bar.   

See paragraph 1 of Re Tay Quan Li Leon, per Sundaresh Menon CJ: 

“Lawyers are called to be ministers in the temple of justice. Because of this defining feature of what it means to be a lawyer, requirements such as fulfilling the requisite course of study or passing the prescribed examinations are necessary, but ultimately insufficient conditions to warrant admission to the Bar. Beyond these technical requirements, there is the overarching question of character. Specifically, where one manifests a real deficit in the crucial attributes of honesty and integrity, one cannot be trusted to duly serve as an officer of the court aiding in the administration of justice.” 

See also Choo Han Teck J at paragraph [7] of Re CTA and other matters [2022] SGHC 87: 

“It is imperative to sound the tocsin, not just to Part B examinees, but to all law students, that this profession values honesty among the highest virtues, and it is best to avoid stumbling on account of a lack of it from the outset. Even lawyers in the embryonic stage — law students — must be trustworthy.”