The CBA appeared before the Supreme Court of Canada in Lizotte today, as an internevor in the appeal.
The case poses an important question:
- Can a regulator or other statutory official rely on general, open-textured statutory language to pry into a lawyer’s brief and examine the lawyer’s litigation strategy, trial preparation, and all other communications made and information assembled for the dominant purpose of pending or apprehended litigation?
CBA Counsel, Mahmud Jamal of Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP, appeared before the Supreme Court of Canada and argued that it treat litigation privilege like solicitor-client privilege and affirm that express words – clear and explicit statutory language – are required to permit a regulator to pierce litigation privilege.
Alexandre Fallon and W. David Rankin (also from Osler) joined Mahmud Jamal as the CBA’s pro bono counsel team.
An archived webcast of the hearing available online.
Read our factum.