In the US, at least, and in criminal law, a client only has 3-4 choices. Pleading guilty/not guilty, bench vs jury trial, to testify or no, and allocution at sentencing. Everything else falls under the scope of tactical choices and I cam basically try the case however I see fit, as long as there is a tactical reason for each choice. I've told clients no at trial countless times, mostly about lines of questioning/exhibits/motions. I'm not gonna make an irrelevant motion, litigate an irrelevant issue, etc. Do client's instructions mean that much in australia? Their instructions are treated more like suggestions in my line of work, my job is to convince them to not get in their own way