New South Wales, Australian Law-Ethics

Other than to the client and to the court, to whom do lawyers owe duties? What are the scope of these duties? Do you think such duties are necessary?
References
Answers to the exam should use in-text referencing. References should not be in footnotes.
Instead, references should be cited in brackets in the body of the text.
References do not have to comply with AGLC. Other than as specified in the following two bullet points, the only requirement is that students should include enough information for the
source to be identifiable.
• Any reference to cases should be cited with the case name and then the date in brackets
e.g. Ryan (1967).
• References to legislation should be in full the first time and can then be abbreviated e.g. Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act 2002 (NSW) (‘LEPRA’).

Question 7
Earlier this year, the Council of the Law Society of New South Wales filed an Application for Disciplinary Findings and Orders in the Civil and Administrative Tribunal alleging that the respondent solicitor, Tim, had engaged in professional misconduct and seeking to have him struck from the roll.
Tim is a sole practitioner in Sydney. Tim acted for Lou on the sale of Lou’s house. Lou directed Tim to deposit money received on settlement on her behalf into his trust account and to hold
it in trust until she purchased another property. Tim deposited the proceeds of sale into his office account. Tim used the funds in the office account to pay for his children’s school fees and for renovations to his office. When Lou contacted Tim instructing him to use the money from the sale of her house to pay the deposit on her new property, there was not enough money in the office account to cover the amount. There was a shortfall of $10,000 that Tim
has still not repaid. Tim is ashamed of his actions and admits they were wrong. He explains that he was suffering
from stress and depression and although he tried his best, he found himself unable to manage his accounts. You are a member of the Tribunal. Discuss any breaches of Tim’s professional duties, whether
a finding of professional misconduct (or another finding) is warranted, and determine (if necessary) any penalty you would apply.