ABSTRACT
Chapter 3 examines the lawyer-to-client relationship between an external corporate law firm, Allens Arthur Robinson, Solicitors (Allens), and its client, James Hardie Industries Ltd (JHIL). The James Hardie (JH) case was subject to a major government-initiated public inquiry known as the Jackson Inquiry. Many of the decisions of the lawyers and their clients and the context in which they were made, are taken from this Inquiry’s report.
Chapter 3 turns the lens of the argument to the corporate client, its commercial problems, its choice of strategies, and how ethical issues may arise. This is the context in which external lawyers are instructed by clients and the advice lawyers provide. Allens, as professionals, had to consider not only the client’s strategies, but also the corporate law and its own professional duties, including legal ethics.
