What is the position if a client admits guilt to his/her legal representative?
The Guide to the Professional Conduct of Solicitors has the following advice:
Solicitors
If a client admits to his/her solicitor that they are guilty of the charge the solicitor must only decline to act in the proceedings if the client insists on giving evidence in the witness box in denial of guilt or requires the making of a statement asserting his or her innocence. A solicitor who acts for a client who has admitted guilt but has pleaded not guilty (as the client is entitled), is under a duty to put the prosecution to proof of its case and may submit that there is insufficient evidence to justify a conviction. The solicitor may advance any defence open to the client other than protesting the client's innocence or suggesting expressly or by implication that someone other than the client committed the offence.
Barristers
If a client confesses to his/her barrister that he did commit the offence charged, this does not prevent the barrister from appearing or continuing to appear in his defence, nor does such a confession release the barrister from his duty to do all that he honourably can do for his client. However such a confession imposes very strict limitations on the conduct of the defence that the barrister may present.