Frail professionalism? : lawyers ethics after the post office and other cases / Richard Moorhead.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Moorhead, Richard, Author.

Series:

Hamlyn lectures.

The Hamlyn Lectures

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Great Britain. Post Office.

Great Britain.

Judicial error--Great Britain.

Judicial error.

Legal ethics--Great Britain.

Legal ethics.

Scandals--Great Britain--History.

Scandals.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xix, 217 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2026.

Summary:

Bad lawyering has come under increasing focus though NDAs, SLAPPs, the banking crisis, and latterly the UK's Post Office Scandal, an extraordinary legal scandal spanning more than 20 years that ruined thousands of lives. This book examines the commercial, cultural, legal, and psychological drivers of ethical failure weaving them together with case studies in a compelling account of what is wrong with lawyers' ethics. Rather than concentrating on a few bad apples, it shows how deep-seated traditions, psychological frailties, the complacency and aggression of well-paid lawyers, and the pragmatism, cynicism, and hubris of organisations combines to pollute decision-making and weaken the rule of law. Be it through awful orthodoxies or legality illusions, it shows how a lawyer's naturally uncomfortable relationship with truth and justice can become improper or even criminal. This title is also available as open access on Cambridge Core.

Contents:

The Post Office Scandal

What the Bates case suggested

A history of aggressive legal offence

Post Office's aggressive legal defence

How unreliable gods and their fearless logics drive ethical failure

How lawyering can pollute institutions

Routes back to proper professionalism.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 31 Jul 2026).

ISBN:

9781009695190

Access Restriction:

Open Access. Unrestricted online access