COURSE INFORMATION Course Title: LEGAL ETHICS

Code	Course Type	Regular Semester	Theory	Practice	Lab	Credits	ECTS
LAW 305	A	5	3	0	0	3	5

Academic staff member responsible for the design of the course syllabus (name, surname, academic title/scientific degree, email address and signature)	Dr. Eglantina Farruku efarruku@epoka.edu.al
Main Course Lecturer (name, surname, academic title/scientific degree, email address and signature) and Office Hours:	Dr. Eglantina Farruku efarruku@epoka.edu.al
Second Course Lecturer(s) (name, surname, academic title/scientific degree, email address and signature) and Office Hours:	NA
Language:	English
Compulsory/Elective:	Compulsory
Study program: (the study for which this course is offered)	Integrated second cycle study program in Law
Classroom and Meeting Time:
Teaching Assistant(s) and Office Hours:	NA
Code of Ethics:	Code of Ethics of EPOKA University Regulation of EPOKA University "On Student Discipline"
Attendance Requirement:
Course Description:	This course invites students to study and engage in ethics, as it applies to matters of crime, law and justice. During this course, the concepts of morality, ethics, values, moral/ethical frameworks, and dilemmas between right and wrong will be examined. The aim of the course is to improve students' abilities to think critically, and to deal with both sides of an issue, right and wrong simultaneously.
Course Objectives:	-To become familiar with and understand the ethical rules that guide lawyers’ conduct. -To understand and be able to critically analyze the rationales behind the ethical rules. -To develop the ability to efficiently identify ethical issues and dilemmas in realistic scenarios, and to propose well-reasoned and articulate resolutions to those issues and dilemmas

BASIC CONCEPTS OF THE COURSE

1	Legal ethics mean the minimum standards of appropriate conduct within the legal profession
2	It is the behavioral norms and morals which govern the conduct of judges and lawyers
3	Legal ethics can also refer to the study or observance of roles and duties of lawyers or the written regulations governing those duties and roles
4	Legal ethics as principles of conduct that members of the legal profession are expected to observe in their practice. They are an outgrowth of the development of the legal profession itself.
5	Legal ethics as the code of conduct regulating and instructing behaviour of persons within the legal profession. This definition covers not only the nature of the interaction of the lawyer with the client, but is recognized to include the duty owed to the wider population

COURSE OUTLINE

Week	Topics
1	Introduction to the Module and Course Requirement
2	Definitions, Approaches, values and breaches of Legal Ethics. The most important thing to understand before dealing with any ethical issues in the legal profession is the concept of legal ethics itself. Therefore, for purpose of this study, ethics are set of rules or principles being moral or legal that govern a person's behavior and the conduct of various people in their profession. issues of ethics are contextual and depending on every circumstances and available codes. However, there are some common malpractices that apply across the board.
3	Ethical theories. This chapter presents a picture of ethical theories—consequentialism, deontology, virtue ethics, priciplism, intuition, hermeneutics, cauistry and ethics of care —and indicates how they differ from one another in their application to some aspects of certain ethical principles...pg.1-43
4	The social context of the legal profession. The position that lawyers have in society, the way in which they are regarded by others, all impact upon the lawyer’s values. They also reflect the pressures that lawyers feel under and may explain some of the lapses in ethical practice. While lawyers, in some ways, have considerable power, the legal profession is under challenge from a number of directions. It is clear that the profession is undergoing some profound changes...pg.44-69
5	The regulation of the legal profession. This chapter presents three perspectives by analyzing the need for regulation of the legal profession-the cynical view, the client protection view and the public interest view and their differences. Further, the objective of the regulation and 4 main models of regulation of law firms are analyzed in details...pg.105-156
6	The lawyer-client relationship. The lawyer-client relationship is composed of many elements and has a complex of values and theoretical bases underpinning it. The relationship is based on contract, agency and fiduciary principles, but cannot solely be characterized as a contractual, agency or fiduciary relationship...pg.157-191
7	Confidentiality and Conflicts of interests...pg.
8	Negligence and lawyers. Legal professionals are highly trained and rigorously regulated. As a result, a high level of trust is placed on such lawyers by clients. Professional negligence claims against them tend to be complex in nature and argument. Professional indemnity insurers will often defend claims vigorously and therefore it is essential to take legal advice at the outset...pg.224-245
9	Midterm Exam
10	Litigation. Litigation, in ordinary speech, refers to actions contested in court; this involves a claim, a dispute or conflict, and the use of a specific institution, the court, to resolve the conflict or dispute. In the past most legal research has consisted of analysis of doctrine and theory about doctrine. But litigation is an important phenomenon in its own right and research lately has shown this. This chapter aims to sketch out a few major areas of research and theory and to add a few brief remarks about the significance of the work thus far...pg.246-283
11	Alternative dispute resolution. Alternative Dispute Resolution, commonly referred to as ADR, is a term which covers many alternatives to traditional methods for resolving conflicts or disputes. ADR has been used as a tool in resolving workplace disputes arising from poor communication, personality conflicts, or alleged discrimination. Dispute resolution techniques differ in their formality and placement of decision-making power. If the process is adjudication or arbitration, the decision-making power lies with a third-party neutral. When the process is mediation, the decision-making power will reside at all times with the parties in conflict...pg.353-390
12	Third parties. When lawyers think about ethics their first thoughts are to duties owed to clients, and then specifically to confidentiality, fees, conflicts of interest and similar lawyer-client issues, and not necessarily in any particular order. Lawyers tend not to think about duties owed to third parties. Historically, third party interests were not something lawyers thought much about as their sole concern was the lawyer’s relationship with and duty to the client. This central concern with the lawyer-client relationship is still reflected in the fact that the set of rules dealing with lawyer-client relationships is by far the largest section of the ethics rules. In more recent years there has been an evolution in the concerns of courts, bar associations and ethics rule writers about the impact of lawyer conduct on third parties or “others...pg.319-341
13	Business ethics. The importance of ethical behavior and compliance with law in business management is widely recognized these days, especially after the recent international corporate failings and debacles as result of ethical misbehavior and non‐compliance.  The students should be aware of the importance of compliance and integrity in a wider business environment.  Transparency and accountability is becoming more and more a necessity in order to earn a “social & legal contract”, i.e. permission to be in business...pg.342-360
14	Lawyers' social responsibilities. This chapter examines the responsibilities that lawyers have to society and the greater good. While the professional codes tend to focus on duties to clients, there are some limited duties to the public good. These are found in the duties under the criminal law, and the broader duty to the court and justice system...367-385

Prerequisite(s):	None
Textbook(s):	Jonathan Herring (2017) Legal Ethics. Second Edition. Oxford University Press
Additional Literature:
Laboratory Work:
Computer Usage:
Others:	No

COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES

1	Acquisition and use of advanced knowledge in the field of legal ethics.
2	Gaining knowledge about issues and problems in the justice field, along with the analysis of ethical and social aspects.
3	Improving the ability to work within the main disciplines of social sciences and other disciplines which are related to justice.
4	Gaining knowledge about justice by absorbing professional terminology of the field.
5	Defining complex events and topics, through the development of discussions and making new suggestions in accordance with field research.
6	Improving critical thinking and skills in conducting research independently.
7	Gaining knowledge to speak in foreign language at a level sufficient to communicate with colleagues and to understand contemporary developments in the field of justice and jurisprudence
8	Acquisition of skills to respect social, scientific and ethical values during the collection and interpretation of data related to social and justice developments.
9	Awareness of the importance of human rights and the environment.

COURSE CONTRIBUTION TO... PROGRAM COMPETENCIES (Blank : no contribution, 1: least contribution ... 5: highest contribution)

No	Program Competencies	Cont.
Integrated second cycle study program in Law Program
1	Fitimi dhe përdorimi i njohurive të avancuara në fushën e drejtësisë dhe jurisprudencës, mbështetur në tekstet mësimore, materialet dhe burimet e tjera shkencore.	5
2	Fitimi i njohurive rreth çështjeve dhe problematikave të fushës së drejtësisë, së bashku me analizën e aspekteve historike, shoqërore e politike.	4
3	Fitimi i njohurive rreth organizimit të shtetit.	5
4	Fitimi i njohurive rreth kapaciteteve të analizës lidhur me konceptet dhe ndarjet kryesore të degëve të së drejtës.	3
5	Përmirësimi i aftësive për të punuar së bashku me disiplinat kryesore të shkencave sociale dhe disiplinat e tjera të cilat janë të lidhura me drejtësinë.	4
6	Fitimi i njohurive rreth drejtësisë duke përthithur terminologjinë profesionale të fushës.	5
7	Përcaktimi i ngjarjeve dhe temave komplekse, nëpërmjet zhvillimit të diskutimeve dhe bërjes së sugjerimeve të reja në përputhje me hulumtimet e fushës.	5
8	Fitimi i aftësive në përdorimin e programeve kompjuterike dhe të teknologjisë së informacionit me qëllim arritjen e qasjes në dijen aktuale.	4
9	Përmirësimi i të menduarit kritik dhe aftësive në kryerjen e hulumtimit në mënyrë të pavarur.	5
10	Fitimi i njohurive për të folur në një gjuhë të huaj në një nivel të mjaftueshëm për të komunikuar me kolegët dhe për të kuptuar zhvillimet bashkëkohore në fushën e drejtësisë dhe të jurisprudencës.	5
11	Fitimi i aftësive për të respektuar vlerat shoqërore, shkencore dhe etike gjatë mbledhjes dhe interpretimit të të dhënave që kanë të bëjnë me zhvillimet shoqërore dhe atyre në drejtësi.	4
12	Ndërgjegjësimi në lidhje me rëndësinë e të drejtave të njeriut dhe mjedisit.	5

COURSE EVALUATION METHOD

Method	Quantity	Percentage
Homework	1	10
Midterm Exam(s)	1	30
Project	1	20
Final Exam	1	40
	Total Percent:	100%

ECTS (ALLOCATED BASED ON STUDENT WORKLOAD)

Activities	Quantity	Duration(Hours)	Total Workload(Hours)
Course Duration (Including the exam week: 16x Total course hours)	16	3	48
Hours for off-the-classroom study (Pre-study, practice)	16	2	32
Mid-terms	1	20	20
Assignments			0
Final examination	1	20	20
Other	1	5	5
Total Work Load:			125
Total Work Load/25(h):			5
ECTS Credit of the Course:			5

CONCLUDING REMARKS BY THE COURSE LECTURER

The students gained knowledge about issues and problems in the justice field, along with the analysis of ethical and social aspects.