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Loyalty, Conscience, And Withdrawal: Are Government Lawyers Different?, Andrew Martin
Loyalty, Conscience, And Withdrawal: Are Government Lawyers Different?, Andrew Martin
Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press
There is a growing recognition that the core concepts and specific rules of legal ethics can have unusual and even unique implications for government lawyers. In this short essay, I examine how loyalty, conscience, and withdrawal apply to government lawyers. I argue that while government lawyers should be slower than lawyers in private practice to exercise their professional discretions to withdraw from a matter, they must be particularly ready to withdraw when unavoidably required – despite any selfless dedication to the ideal of a non-partisan public service.
Folk Hero Or Legal Pariah? A Comment On The Legal Ethics Of Edgar Schmidt And Schmidt V Canada (Attorney General), Andrew Flavelle Martin
Folk Hero Or Legal Pariah? A Comment On The Legal Ethics Of Edgar Schmidt And Schmidt V Canada (Attorney General), Andrew Flavelle Martin
Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press
In Schmidt v Canada (Attorney General), government lawyer Edgar Schmidt sought a declaration that the Department of Justice and the Minister of Justice were misinterpreting legislation requiring the Minister to inform the House of Commons if government bills are inconsistent with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Schmidt was one of the lawyers who made recommendations under that legislation. Schmidt thus presents an unusual case study in legal ethics: what should, or can, a lawyer do when a client rejects the lawyer’s advice? What if the client is the government, and the advice is about fundamental rights? This …
Legal Ethics And The Political Activity Of Government Lawyers, Andrew Martin
Legal Ethics And The Political Activity Of Government Lawyers, Andrew Martin
Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press
The ability to engage in political activity is an essential feature of a democratic society. However, the ability of government lawyers to do so is unclear. While most governments have passed legislation identifying permissible political activity of their employees, it is unclear how the professional obligations of lawyers apply in this context and how these professional obligations interact with this legislation. This article answers these questions. The duty of loyalty to the client requires most government lawyers to refrain from all political activity at the same level of government. The special professional obligations of Crown prosecutors require these lawyers to …
Orphans No More: A Review Of Elizabeth Sanderson, Government Lawyering: Duties And Ethical Challenges Of Government Lawyers, Andrew Martin
Orphans No More: A Review Of Elizabeth Sanderson, Government Lawyering: Duties And Ethical Challenges Of Government Lawyers, Andrew Martin
Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press
Elizabeth Sanderson’s Government Lawyering: Duties and Ethical Challenges of Government Lawyers is the first comprehensive and long-form assessment of why government lawyers are different than lawyers in private practice and why that difference matters. This book review essay begins by setting out Sanderson’s position on a few concepts key to legal ethics for government lawyers: a definition of government lawyers, an account of the duties that apply to them, and the identity of the client. It then goes on to highlight the book’s four major contributions: an emphasis on the role of the Deputy Attorney General as an interface between …