Understanding Lawyers' Ethics in Canada, 2nd Edition

Conducting Yourself Ethically In Your Day-to-Day Practice
Legal ethics expert Alice Woolley has written a thorough and scholarly review of the legal and ethical duties every lawyer should follow in order to manage risk and make prudent decisions in everyday practice. This useful text sets out numerous ethical issues lawyers face in their dealings with clients – complete with analysis, commentary and insight. This book is highly recommended for every lawyer who wishes to represent his or her client to the fullest, while at the same time, remain within the boundaries of legality and of ethical practice.

Key Features
Substantially revised, the second edition of Understanding Lawyers' Ethics in Canada discusses significant practice and case law developments which have occurred since the previous edition was published in 2011. The text keeps readers up to date on the latest challenges and ethical dilemmas for lawyers, and includes:

• An excellent summation of the duties and responsibilities lawyers must follow
• Examination of case law and disciplinary decisions with respect to lawyer misconduct
• Reviews of ethical issues arising in areas such as:
  • Lawyer-client relationship
  • Advocacy
  • Lawyer-client trust and confidence
  • Client perjury
  • Dealing with witnesses
  • Conflicts of interest
  • Criminal law
  • Access to justice
• All of the codified duties of lawyers in Canada, referencing specifically the codes of conduct in New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario (Upper Canada), Alberta and British Columbia, as well as the model codes of the Canadian Bar Association and the Federation of Law Societies

New in this Edition

• With every single Code of Conduct substantially revised since 2011, the new edition incorporates the new Codes and the changes arising from them in its coverage
• Coverage of the Supreme Court of Canada case Canada (Attorney General) v Federation of Law Societies on the duty of resolute advocacy as a principle of fundamental justice in s. 7 of the Charter
• NEW discussion on the what the duty of competency requires of a lawyer
• NEW discussion of the lawyer's duties as a fiduciary
• NEW discussion of the lawyer's duties as an advisor
• NEW discussion of case law developments with respect to lawyer speech, in the wake of Groia vs. Law Society of Upper Canada and Dore v. Barreau
• Update on the large amount of case law decisions in the area of conflict of interest since the first edition, including the Supreme Court of Canada decision in the McKercher case which revisted the "bright line" rule with respect to the concurrent representation of clients
• Discussion of recent case law decisions relating to the prohibition on lawyers assisting clients to deceive the court
• NEW section on ethical practice for prosecutors with regards to the conduct of a criminal trial and the duties of defence lawyers in relation to effective assistance of counsel
• Updated discussion, analysis and case-law on the barriers of access to justice, including expanded discussion on the barrier of not knowing when a lawyer is necessary, or what a lawyer can accomplish

Who Should Read This Book?

• All lawyers including In-house Counsel – avoid suspension, fines and disbarment by understanding your ethical duties as a lawyer
• Judges – to assist in making decisions on professional ethics and conflict of interest cases
• Law societies – a well-researched reference source for bodies governing legal practice
• Law students & articling students – a useful supplement to course materials on legal ethics, and provides a head start on legal practice
• Law professors & instructors – an indispensable textbook for teaching legal ethics and the legal code of conduct