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Professional Ethics & Practice

1. It is a bright Saturday afternoon. James, your new business acquaintance invites you for a game of golf. You are particularly thrilled because you are certain that you will make some very useful business contacts on the course. Your colleague, Mr. Maitha advocate has been regaling you with tales of how he landed a blue chip company as a client following a chance meeting with its Chief Executive Officer on the golf course. You are a novice in the game of golf and are hesitant to display your ignorance. Your perceptive caddy very soon puts you at ease and quickly guides you through the preliminaries of the game. You begin to feel more confident and a hearty conversation with the caddy ensues. The caddy will, for an agreed commission, introduce you to some potential clients. The caddy, also, makes an unexpected disclosure to you. He wishes to file for divorce and James may be the co-respondent. He seeks your advice on how he should proceed with the matter and requests you to represent him. You inform him that in view of your acquaintance with James, you prefer not to act for the caddy but that you are able to give the caddy some advice informally. You then begin to advise the caddy on how he should proceed. The caddy makes more disclosures. James, apparently, could be the biological father of the caddy’s two (2) year-old ‘son’, and the caddy has hired a private investigator to closely monitor James. You promise the caddy that you will in due course recommend another colleague to act on the caddy’s behalf. Over a cup of coffee in the evening, James asks you what the animated conversation with the caddy was about. You inform James that you are very worried for him because the caddy is out to ruin his name and good standing in business circles. You then drop a broad hint about your conversation with the caddy. Upon your return to your office you also share your experience with your partner Luka. Luka informs you that he is aware of the matter and that indeed the caddy’s wife has been a client of your firm for a long time. In fact the caddy’s wife had already approached Luka and intimated that there could be a matrimonial legal brief in the offing and that Luka should handle the same. You also discuss the matter at length with your fried Juma advocate (who agrees to take the brief) and you also give Juma the caddy’s cell phone number.

Discuss the ethical issues (if any) that arise.                          (15 marks)