Julie's client, Jonah, needs Legal Aid to pay for a barrister in an upcoming criminal hearing. The application form is lengthy and complex and requires Jonah to provide financial information to which he does not have immediate access.

The hearing is next week and Julie needs to have the application lodged promptly if aid is to be granted, so she asks Jonah to sign the application "as is" (without the financial details inserted). Julie intends to insert the information when Jonah phones her with the details. But in the rush to prepare for the hearing, Julie honestly forgets that the application is unfinished and even though signed, the form is lodged in an incomplete state. The application may be rejected and Julie would be unable to get the hearing adjourned to allow a reapplication for legal aid.

What is the ethical position as to whether Julie should have signed the document prematurely?Explain

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

Signing a legal document prematurely especially one as crucial as a legal aid application raises eth... View the full answer