International Journal of the Legal Profession: Gov’t Legal Practice

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The deadline for submission: September 15, 2011

The International Journal of the Legal Profession invites manuscripts for a planned symposium issue on Government Legal Practice and Government Lawyers. We are particularly interested in papers dealing with lawyers occupying career positions in government service dealing with matters other than criminal prosecution or criminal defense. We welcome studies dealing with a wide range of issues including (but not limited to) the nature of the lawyers’ work, their career patterns, the ethical issues they confront, and/or how they balance professional norms in a political environment. Questions about the suitability of manuscripts can be directed either to the general editor, Professor Avrom Sherr (Avrom.Sherr@sas.ac.uk) at the Institute for Advanced Legal Studies, or the symposium editor, Professor Herbert Kritzer (kritzer@umn.edu) at the University of Minnesota Law School.  Submissions should be sent electronically, either as Word documents or as PDF documents (with all identifying information removed) to Professor Sherr. All manuscripts will be subject to the journal’s normal peer review process. The deadline for submission to insure consideration for the symposium is September 15, 2011; it is anticipated that the symposium will be published in the second issue of 2012.

International Legal Ethics Conference V: Alberta, Canada, July 2012

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Planning has already begun for the the fifth International Legal Ethics Conference scheduled for July 12 – 14, 2012, in Banff, Alberta, Canada.  For more information on the themes of the conference, click here.

The conference organizing committee is led by Professor Alice Woolley, Faculty of Law, University of Calgary  and Richard Devlin Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University.

Article: Ethical Lawyering Across Canada’s Legal Traditions

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Paul Jonathan Saguil, “Ethical Lawyering Across Canada’s Legal Traditions” (2010) 9 (1) Indigenous Law Journal

Abstract:

This article examines the extent to which a “reconceptualization” from the deontological and consequentialist paradigms that characterize traditional legal ethics discourse, even as it attempts to break from the tradition, still remains rooted in Western ideals of “self;” “law” and “society” — that is, a notion of lawyers as understood in the common and civil law traditions. It engages the emerging notion of a multi-juridical Canadian legal tradition — that is, in addition to the common law and civil law traditions of the English and French, Canada’s legal inheritance includes (and thus must be harmonized with) indigenous law — and questions how our notions of lawyering and legal practice may have to change to accommodate this non-Western (but nevertheless Canadian) perspective.

To download the full text from SSRN, click here.

Decision: Consulate Ventures (ONCA) – Conflicts

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Consulate Ventures Inc. v. Amico Contracting & Engineering (1992) Inc., 2010 ONCA 788 (CanLII)

From the decision:

OVERVIEW

[1]               Consulate Ventures Inc., the respondent on appeal, brings a motion for an order removing Mr. Alan Lenczner as counsel for the appellants on this appeal.  The respondent contends that Mr. Lenczner, who was retained by the respondent briefly in respect of the same matter some 11 years ago, cannot act for the appellants on this appeal.  Counsel for Mr. Lenczner submits that, in the circumstances, Mr. Lenczner can act on the appeal for the appellants without compromising either his duty of confidentiality to the respondent or his obligations to his present clients, the appellants. 

For the full decision, click here.

News: Legal Ethics Training Compulsory for Law Students (Eng and Wales)

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From the website:

Legal ethics training must be compulsory for law students

The Law Society, in light of the review of legal services education and training  announced by the legal regulators (the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), the Bar Standards Board (BSB) and the Institute of Legal Executives Professional Standards (IPS) have launched the review ), called  for a greater focus on ethics in the Qualifying Law Degree and for the development of more robust systems for assuring quality in the provision of legal education and training.  

For the full release, click here.

Decision: whether solicitors entitled to terminate retainer (UK)

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Richard Buxton (Solicitors) v Mills-Owens & Anor [2010] EWCA Civ 122 (23 February 2010)

URL: http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2010/122.html

Cite as: [2010] 17 EG 96, [2010] 3 Costs LR 421, [2010] CP Rep 26, [2010] EWCA Civ 122, [2010] 1 WLR 1997, [2010] 9 EG 166] EWCA Civ 122

Lord Justice Dyson:

The principal issues that arise on this appeal are whether (i) the appellant solicitors were entitled to terminate their retainer and (ii) whether they were entitled to their profit costs and disbursements up to the date of termination. Continue reading →

News: Investors Put Money on Lawsuits to Get Payouts

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From the New York Times

By BINYAMIN APPELBAUM

Published: November 14, 2010

Large banks, hedge funds and private investors hungry for new and lucrative opportunities are bankrolling other people’s lawsuits, pumping hundreds of millions of dollars into medical malpractice claims, divorce battles and class actions against corporations — all in the hope of sharing in the potential winnings. 

For more, click here.

For commentary on Legal Ethics Forum, click here.

Judicial Independence in Context

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Adam Dodek and Lorne Sossin, eds., Judicial Independence in Context ( Toronto: Irwin Law, 2010).

A collection of essays by leading scholars, lawyers, and judges that examines both the theory and practice of judicial independence in Canada and around the world.  Contributors include: Peter Hogg; Lori Sterling & Sean Hanley; Lorne Sossin; Graeme G. Mitchell; Benjamin Alarie & Andrew Green; Jacob Ziegel; Sonia Lawrence; Rosemary Cairns Way; Patricia Hughes; Adam Dodek; Karen Eltis; Graham Gee; Jameson W. Doig; Amnon Reichman; Penelope Andrews; Fabien Gelina; Martin L. Friedland; John Honderich; Justice Robert J. Sharpe & Michelle Bradfield; Janice Gross Stein; Peter H. Russell; and Justice Brian W. Lennox.

For more information, and to order a copy, click here.

SCC to hear case re ethics and religion case (Quebec)

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Supreme Court to hear case over Quebec’s controversial ethics and religion class

Ottawa, The Canadian Press, Published Thursday, Oct. 21, 2010 3:59PM EDT, Last updated Thursday, Oct. 21, 2010 4:05PM EDT

Canada’s highest court has decided it will hear from Quebec parents who want the right to keep their children out of the classroom during a mandatory course on ethics and religion.

The Supreme Court of Canada said Thursday it will hear arguments on a contentious issue — whether students are eligible for exemption from compulsory studies based on freedom of religion. For more, click here.