Lewis & Kyrou's Handy Hints on Legal Practice, Second SA Edition
Handy Hints expertly bridges the gap between legal training and legal experience.
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Handy Hints expertly bridges the gap between legal training and legal experience.
It is a simple and practical guide to the basic features of legal practice, with liberal sprinklings of “common sense” aimed at law graduates and newly admitted practitioners.
Handy Hints on Legal Practice blends legal rules with practical advice and keeps an eye on the ethical standards of the profession.
Handy Hints serves as a “Survival Kit” for new lawyers and will assist senior lawyers to urgently assess when it may be “Time to Quit”. The book is informative, easy to read and entertaining. Although many parts of the second edition have enduring value, other parts have been overtaken by developments in the law and changes in legal practice since that edition was published in 1993. These have been reworked.
Many changes in the practice of law have resulted from rapid technological change and increased globalisation. Communication by email and internet-based legal research are now commonplace. Law firms have grown in size and tend to operate along corporate lines. Career choices for lawyers have expanded, with dramatic increases in the numbers of in-house corporate lawyers (legal advisors) and lawyers working overseas.
Paradoxically, there has also been renewed emphasis in traditional ethical principles, possibly as a reaction to criticisms of the increasing business focus of lawyers.
Table of contents
Part 1 - Relationship with client
Chapter 1 - Introduction
Chapter 2 - First Interview with Client
Chapter 3 - Maintaining Contact with Client
Chapter 4 - Nature of Retainer and when it can be terminated
Chapter 5 - Adhering to instructions
Chapter 6 - Overriding ethical obligations
Chapter 7 - Independence from your client
Chapter 8 - Confidentiality
Chapter 9 - Legal Professional Privilege
Chapter 10 - Conflict of Interest
Chapter 11 - Costs
Chapter 12 - Entitlements to documents
Chapter 13 - Attorneys lien
Chapter 14 - Destruction of documents
Chapter 15 - Acting for friends or relatives
Chapter 16 - Sexual relations with clients
Part 2 - Relationship with other practitioners
Chapter 17 - Duty to fellow practitioners
Chapter 18 - Conducting Negotiations
Chapter 19 - Alternative Dispute Resolution Procedures
Chapter 20 - Use of Counsel
Chapter 21 - Communication with Another Practitioner's Client or Witness
Chapter 22 - Client Threats Against Another Practitioners
Part 3 - Relationship with the profession and the community
Chapter 23 - Duty to profession and community
Chapter 24 - Assisting the Disadvantaged (Pro Bono)
Chapter 25 - Undertakings
Chapter 26 - Precautions Against Negligence
Chapter 27 - Unprofessional Conduct
Part 4 - Relationship with the courts
Chapter 28 - Court conduct
Chapter 29 - Relationship with Court Officials
Chapter 30 - Contempt of Court
Chapter 31 - Witnesses
Chapter 32 - Conducting a Case
Chapter 33 - Instructing in Court
Chapter 34 - Court ettiquette
Part 5 - Mistakes and misapprehensions
Chapter 35 - Learning from mistakes
Chapter 36 - General Mistakes and Misapprehensions
Chapter 37 - Common Mistakes in Property Matters
Chapter 38 - Common Mistakes in Litigious Matters
Chapter 39 - Common Mistakes in Commercial matters
Part 6 - Communication and drafting
Chapter 40 - Communication fundamentals
Chapter 41 - Correspondence
Chapter 42 - Letters of Demand
Chapter 43 - Telephone
Chapter 44 - Faxes
Chapter 45 - Email
Chapter 46 - Without Prejudice
Chapter 47 - Drafting
Part 7 - Practice management
Chapter 48 - Importance of Practice Management
Chapter 49 - Prioritising
Chapter 50 - File Management
Chapter 51 - Research
Chapter 52 - Technology
Chapter 53 - Internet
Part 8 - Working in the law
Chapter 54 - Career Options
Chapter 55 - Working as an attorney
Chapter 56 - Working as an advocate
Chapter 57 - Working as an in-house corporate lawyer
Chapter 58 - Working as an in-house government lawyer
Chapter 59 - Working as an academic lawyer
Chapter 60 - Working overseas
Chapter 61 - Survival kit for new lawyers
Chapter 62 - Women in the law
Part 9 - Leaving the law - Common legal diseases
Chapter 63 - Legal malaise
Chapter 64 - Professional Paralysis
Chapter 65 - "I Can't Say No" Syndrome
Chapter 66 - "Time to Quit" Condition
Part 10 - Miscellaneous
Chapter 67 - Questions
Chapter 68 - Afterthought
