Lawyers and Money: 20 Years Later

The same ethical questions. Higher stakes. Democracy hanging in the balance. Twenty years ago, Bret Walker AO SC asked hard questions about lawyers and money – particularly about how the legal profession's transformation into "business for profit" threatens traditional ethical values. Today, with leaders internationally threatening the rule of law, those questions have become even more urgent. Can lawyers still defend democracy or have they become part of the problem?

In his 2005 address, Bret Walker AO SC argued that while lawyers play crucial roles in commerce and justice, excessive focus on revenue generation creates conflicts between professional duties and financial interests. He particularly criticised mega-firms for measuring success solely through monetary metrics rather than professional standards. Walker warned that lawyers imitating their business clients undermines professional independence and the administration of justice, concluding that lawyers and money require "curbs and controls" to prevent profit-seeking from dominating professional responsibilities.

Twenty years after Walker's prescient warnings about lawyers and money, the stakes have escalated dramatically. Today's legal profession grapples with AI potentially replacing lawyers while tech-savvy mega-firms concentrate unprecedented power, global oligarchs weaponising sophisticated legal strategies to circumvent democratic institutions, and a fundamental ethical crisis over serving lucrative fossil fuel clients versus upholding justice for future generations facing climate catastrophe. Walker's original concerns about conflicts between money and justice now play out at global scale, making his fresh perspective more crucial than ever for a profession at a crossroads between serving power and protecting democratic institutions.

Hosted by The Ethics Centre's Executive Director, Dr Simon Longstaff AO, join Bret Walker AO SC in the Banco Court for this pressing discussion of the ethical challenges faced by the law profession and the critical role lawyers play in tackling the biggest issues of our time.

Entry to this event is free of charge. Should you be able, please consider a donation to support the work of the not for profit organisation The Ethics Centre in convening important discussions such as these.