New Ontario conflict of interest decision

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Ontario v Chartis Insurance Company of Canada, 2016 ONSC 43 addresses the issue of conflicts arising from a transferring lawyer. In this case, the law firm to which the lawyer was transferred was disqualified despite the fact that a confidentiality screen was put in place in a timely manner.

The Court held that there was no question that the transferring lawyer had received relevant, confidential information that was attributable to the solicitor–client relationship between the plaintiff and its counsel, his previous employer. On the question of whether there was a risk that the confidential information would be used to the prejudice of the plaintiff, the Court noted, inter alia:

[42]          ….There is nothing that suggests that every conflict which arises can be successfully met by the imposition of the guidelines found in the Rules of Professional Conduct or some alternate form of ethical screen. To think otherwise circumvents the precedence of maintaining the integrity of the administration of justice. It replaces it with a concern for the presence of a screen which is comprehensive, not one that will necessarily work. There will be circumstances where the conflict of concern may not be overcome by whatever protective measures can be put in place. “The test must be such that the public represented by the reasonably informed person would be satisfied that no use of confidential information would occur”. There will be circumstances where such a person cannot be satisfied, where the relationships are just too close and the appropriate segregation cannot be made or its presence maintained….

[43]           In this case, the idea is that all of the protections imposed will appropriately guard against a breach between two lawyers where 50 to 60 percent of the practice of the migrating lawyer will be working with counsel continuing to have carriage of this file for AIG and 50 percent of the practice of the migrating lawyer will have him acting for AIG. For all of the protections proposed, this case is reduced to whether a member of the public, properly informed, will accept that two lawyers can work this closely and no breach of confidential information, inadvertent or otherwise, will occur and no use of such information made.

…

[45]           …. The closeness of the working relationship is such that the prospect of a breach will not be set aside by the ethical screen that is proposed, at least not to the informed and reasonable member of the public. The integrity of the administration of justice will be impaired if counsel is allowed to continue.

[46]           This can be more easily understood from the following. Insurance companies such as AIG are frequent litigators. This arises from the nature of their business. This is a “coverage action”. The plaintiff seeks a finding as to its insurance coverage in respect of three class actions commenced against it. This is hardly an unusual issue to find its way to court. What if a similar issues arises in some other case in which counsel for AIG is retained to act for it and the migrating lawyer is involved in that representation? The same strategic considerations could arise. It is not difficult to see the experience in one case assisting in the other and the threat of an inadvertent breach, despite all the care that has been taken, being real. I venture to say that the hypothetical member of the public would not be satisfied that the use of confidential information would not be imparted and used. The idiom “too close for comfort” is, if anything, a cliché. Certainly, it is not a legal principle. Nonetheless, it has application to this appeal.

[footnotes omitted]

For the full set of reasons, see here.

 

Federation of Law Societies launches interactive Model Code of Professional Conduct

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MESSAGE EN FRANÇAIS À LA SUITE

The following is a message from Gavin Hume:

Dear Colleagues,

I am writing to announce that the Federation of Law Societies of Canada has launched the Interactive Model Code of Professional Conduct, an online tool that links the provisions in the Federation’s Model Code to the matching or related rules of professional conduct in every law society in Canada.

This interactive tool will allow mobile lawyers, law society staff and leaders, academic researchers and others to quickly and easily find the enforceable rules in every Canadian jurisdiction using the national Model Code as the central reference point. Users will be able to isolate specific sections of the Federation’s Model Code and view the corresponding code of conduct of another jurisdiction.

The Federation’s Model Code was developed to harmonize as much as possible the ethical rules governing lawyers across Canada. It has now been implemented by ten Canadian law societies, is reflected in the Barreau du Quebec’s new Code of Professional Conduct and is under review in the remaining jurisdictions.

The Interactive Model Code of Professional Conduct is available on the Federation’s web site (www.flsc.ca) and can be accessed through a permanent link at: http://flsc.ca/interactivecode.

 

The Federation of Law Societies of Canada is the national coordinating body of the 14 law societies mandated by provincial and territorial law to regulate Canada’s 100,000 lawyers, Quebec’s 4,000 notaries and Ontario’s 7,200 licensed paralegals in the public interest. It is a leading voice on issues of national and international importance relating to the administration of justice and the rule of the law.

Sincerely,

Gavin Hume, Q.C., Chair, Standing Committee on the Model Code of Professional Conduct,

Federation of Law Societies of Canada

 

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Ce qui suit est un message de Gavin Hume :

 

Chères/chers collègues,

 

Je vous écris pour vous annoncer que la Fédération des ordres professionnels de juristes du Canada a lancé le Code type de déontologie professionnelle interactif, un outil en ligne qui fait le pont entre les dispositions du Code type de la Fédération et les règles de déontologie professionnelle reliées ou correspondantes parmi tous les ordres professionnels de juristes au Canada.

Cet outil interactif permettra aux avocats en déplacement, au personnel et aux dirigeants des ordres professionnels de juristes, aux chercheurs universitaires et à d’autres intéressés de trouver les règles de conduite facilement et rapidement dans toutes les juridictions canadiennes en utilisant le code type national en tant que point de référence central. Les utilisateurs pourront isoler des sections spécifiques du Code type de la Fédération et visualiser le code de déontologie dans chaque jurisdiction.

Le Code type de la Fédération fut conçu pour harmoniser les règles de déontologie gouvernant les avocats à travers le Canada du mieux possible. Celui-ci vient d’être mis en œuvre par dix ordres professionnels de juristes au Canada, est reflété dans le nouveau code de déontologie professionnelle du Barreau du Québec et fait l’objet d’examen dans les juridictions restantes.

Le Code type de déontologie professionnelle interactif est disponible sur le site Web de la fédération (http://flsc.ca/fr/) et l’accès est disponible grâce au lien permanent suivant: http://flsc.ca/fr/codeinteractif/.

La Fédération des ordres professionnels de juristes du Canada est l’organisme coordonnateur national des 14 ordres professionnels de juristes qui, en vertu de la loi de leur province ou territoire, ont le mandat de réglementer les 100 000 avocats du Canada, les 4 000 notaires du Québec et les 7 200 parajuristes autorisés de l’Ontario dans l’intérêt du public. Elle joue un rôle de premier plan dans des dossiers d’intérêt national et international qui concernent l’administration de la justice et la primauté du droit.

Très sincèrement à vous,

 

Gavin Hume, c.r.

Président, Comité permanent sur le Code type de déontologie professionnelle de la Fédération

 

 

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Daphne Keevil Harrold

Policy Counsel / Conseillère en matière de politiques

 

Federation of Law Societies of Canada / Fédération des ordres professionnels de juristes du Canada

World Exchange Plaza

1810 – 45 rue O’Connor Street

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1P 1A4

dkeevil@flsc.ca

 

t.  613.783.7393