CBA Intervention Well Received by Supreme Court of Canada

The recent decision by the Supreme Court of Canada Celanese Canada Inc v. Murray Demolition Corp (2006 SCC 36), has affirmed both the fundamental role of solicitor-client privilege as well as the importance of a client’s right to counsel of choice. The Court gives model order guidelines, as the CBA had recommended, that are “extremely helpful and important, and will apply not only to Anton Piller orders but also to other search warrants authorized by legislation,” says Mahmud Jamal, of Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP, CBA’s pro bono counsel in the case.

Judgment: http://scc.lexum.umontreal.ca/en/2006/2006scc36/2006scc36.html.

Code of Conduct

The 2006 Code of Professional Conduct has been mailed to all CBA members with the August edition of National magazine. New provisions, among many others, deal specifically with:

• Confidentiality: New exceptions to lawyers’ duty to keep client information confidential are in place. Lawyers must disclose confidential information when they reasonably believe there is an imminent risk to a person or group, and the disclosure is necessary to prevent death or serious bodily harm. The Code now guides lawyers on how to reconcile “whistleblowing” on corporate misconduct with the duty of confidentiality.
• Discrimination: Sexual harassment and any other harassment by a lawyer are more clearly defined in the updated chapter on discrimination.
• Conflict of interest: New provisions make it clear that lawyers may not represent clients who are on opposite sides of a dispute unless the clients receive full disclosure about the conflict and agree to have the lawyer continue to represent them both.
• Civility: The 2006 Code introduces principles of civility for advocates.

Also available online: www.cba.org/CBA/activities/code/.

CBR Online

Issue 1, Vol. 85 of the Canadian Bar Review is available online. The lineup includes, among others:

• Corporate Law and the Role of Corporations in Society: Monism, Pluralism, Markets and Politics, by Ian B. Lee
• Lost in Transition: Answering the Questions Raised by the Supreme Court of Canada's New Approach to Jurisdiction, by Stephen G.A. Pitel and Cheryl D. Dusten

Full searchable text requires member number. To order a printed, softbound copy of the 2006 Canadian Bar Review, please contact christines@cba.org

Issue 1, Vol. 85 www.cba.org/CBA/Canadian_Bar_Review/Main/

CBA Supports Review of Jamaican Justice System

On Aug. 31, the CBA signed an agreement with Jamaica’s Ministry of Justice to undertake a comprehensive review of the country’s justice system. Led by the Jamaican government and supported by the CBA, the objective of the review is to produce actionable recommendations designed to modernize the Jamaican justice system. A team of Canadian legal experts will work closely with Jamaican justice system professionals to develop the operational plan for the nine-month review.

News release: www.cba.org/CBA/News/2006_Releases/2006-08-31_jamaica.aspx.

2006 National Council Resolutions

• Along with some 100 legal organizations from 40 countries, CBA adopted a statement of core principles of an independent judiciary, independent legal profession, access to justice for all and that these principles shall not yield to any emergency of the moment.
• A call for the federal government to increase funding for the Court Challenges Program.
• A resolution calling on government to increase student loans, to defer interest and loan repayment until after articles and Bar admission have been completed.
• Plus two resolutions were tabled: one seeking to overturn a ban of First Canadian Title Insurance from advertising in CBA publications and one on access to justice originally brought by Dugald Christie of Vancouver who was tragically killed in Northern Ontario while riding his bike from B.C. to Ottawa.

To view National Council resolutions, please visit (with CBA member number): www.cba.org/CBA/resolutions/2006res/Default.aspx.

CBA PracticeLink Podcast: New Ways to Practice Work/Life Balance

One of the greatest challenges facing the legal profession today is trying to achieve a productive and satisfying professional career without sacrificing personal and family life.

This month on CBA PracticeLink, listen to a roundtable podcast on work-life balance featuring a panel of experts and moderated by lawyer and journalist Lisa Taylor. The podcast was recorded live at the 2006 CBA Canadian Legal Conference in St. John's in August.

To listen to the podcast, please visit: www.cba.org/cba/PracticeLink/podcasts/balance.aspx.

These articles were published in the October 2006 issue of BarTalk and are subject to the copyright by the British Columbia Branch of the Canadian Bar Association, 2006, all rights reserved.