1.2 Principles of Legal Ethics and Professional Ethics

General professional principles (shared across professions): integrity (honesty as a whole character); objectivity (bias resisted); confidentiality (the client's secret kept); competence (skill maintained); diligence (the matter pursued); accountability (answers owed for conduct). Legal- ethics-specific principles: fidelity to the client (undivided loyalty, conflicts avoided, privilege claimed and guarded); candour to the court (the lawyer is an officer of the court — the tribunal is never misled); independence (resistance to pressure from state, client, and popular opinion — the fearless bar); the access-to-justice duty (the poor served, legal aid given — Unit 7's full treatment); fair competition among lawyers (courtesy to brethren, no touting or solicitation). The central tension (the exam's favourite): the lawyer's "two masters" — the client's zeal and the court's candour. The resolution is a hierarchy: the law prevails. The zealous advocate acts within the law: never false evidence, never perjured testimony, never a misled court. Ethics is not a checklist but exercised judgment in the conflict of duties.