ABSTRACT

Public trust in the legal profession rests on regulators taking timely and effective action in response to misconduct. Usually, case-by-case analysis occurs after a claim or complaint is lodged with little attention on factors that may predispose a lawyer to misconduct. Vulnerability is a useful concept for understanding individuals’ susceptibility to harm and for identifying safeguards to protect against that harm. This empirical study adds to the largely normative research on vulnerability with an analysis of 67 “problem lawyers” who were the subject of multiple complaints and at least one disciplinary hearing, a paid financial misconduct claim, or striking from the roll in Victoria, Australia between 2005 and 2015. We analysed determinations about these lawyers and identified a concatenation of factors associated with legal misconduct. Personal vulnerabilities included older age, male sex, poor health, and patterns of behaviour such as low conscientiousness. Situational vulnerabilities included working as a sole principal or in a small practice, excessive workload, and pressures from relationship breakdowns, death or illness in the family, or financial difficulties. These findings shed light on vulnerabilities to legal misconduct, and have implications for lawyer education and well-being, protection of clients, and efforts to reduce lapses in professionalism.

摘要

公众对法律界的信任取决于监管者对不当行为采取及时有效的行动。通常，逐案分析是在提出索赔或投诉后，很少注意可能导致律师不当行为的因素。脆弱性是一个有用的概念，有助于理解个人对伤害的敏感性以及确定保护措施以防止伤害。这项实证研究为对脆弱性进行了广泛的规范性研究，对67位“问题律师”进行了分析，这些问题涉及多次投诉和至少一次纪律听证，有偿财务不当行为索赔或在澳大利亚维多利亚州的罢工之间2005年和2015年。我们分析了有关这些律师的裁定，并确定了与法律不当行为相关的一系列因素。个人的脆弱性包括年龄较大，男性，健康状况不佳以及行为模式（例如，认真负责）。情境漏洞包括独自工作或从事小规模工作，过多的工作量以及因关系破裂，家庭中的死亡或疾病或经济困难而承受的压力。这些发现揭示了法律不当行为的脆弱性，并且对律师的教育和福祉，对客户的保护以及减少专业水准下降的努力具有影响。或财务困难。这些发现揭示了法律不当行为的脆弱性，并且对律师的教育和福祉，对客户的保护以及减少专业水准下降的努力具有影响。或财务困难。这些发现揭示了法律不当行为的脆弱性，并且对律师的教育和福祉，对客户的保护以及减少专业水准下降的努力具有影响。