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Full-Text Articles in Law
Legal Ethics For Government Lawyers: Lessons From Nunavut, Andrew Flavelle Martin
Legal Ethics For Government Lawyers: Lessons From Nunavut, Andrew Flavelle Martin
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While government lawyers face legal ethics issues unique to that practice context, those issues are overlooked in the rules of professional conduct in all but one Canadian jurisdiction: Nunavut. In this comment, I canvass several provisions that are unique to the Code of Professional Conduct of the Law Society of Nunavut. These provisions are inexplicably overlooked in the Canadian legal ethics literature to date. I then assess how these provisions address the legal ethics issues unique to government lawyering. Finally, I argue that the Nunavut provisions should be considered a starting point and I consider additional changes that could be …
Role Call: Can A Backbench Legislator Practice As A Criminal Defence Lawyer? A Legal Ethics Analysis, Andrew Flavelle Martin, Brandon Trask
Role Call: Can A Backbench Legislator Practice As A Criminal Defence Lawyer? A Legal Ethics Analysis, Andrew Flavelle Martin, Brandon Trask
Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press
Legislators come from a range of backgrounds. Many legislators happen to be lawyers. Parliamentary rules typically allow legislators who are not members of Cabinet to practice a profession part-time. However, the part-time practice of law poses special legal ethics challenges. In this article, we consider the legal ethics issues that arise when a backbench legislator of the governing party practices criminal defence law part-time. We argue that such a dual role engages three serious, unavoidable, and perhaps even unresolvable legal ethics issues. The first issue is the time constraints imposed by outside interests. The second issue is conflicts of interest, …
Lawyers And Public Service: Duty, Faith, And The 'Good Republican' In The West Wing, Andrew Flavelle Martin
Lawyers And Public Service: Duty, Faith, And The 'Good Republican' In The West Wing, Andrew Flavelle Martin
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Popular culture reveals much about the perceived role of lawyers in contemporary life. In this article, I draw lessons from the portrayal of lawyers in Aaron Sorkin's classic television series, The West Wing. As a drama centred around a Democratic presidential administration, Republicans often provide the foil. From time to time, however, the show lionizes what might be termed ‘the good Republican’. That ‘good Republican’ is most often a practicing lawyer whose desire to serve is grounded in duty or faith. In this essay, I use a trio of these characters to explore the role of lawyers in public service. …
Crown Attorneys, The Attorney General, And Judicial Discipline: A Comment On Lauzon V Ontario (Justices Of The Peace Review Council), Andrew Flavelle Martin
Crown Attorneys, The Attorney General, And Judicial Discipline: A Comment On Lauzon V Ontario (Justices Of The Peace Review Council), Andrew Flavelle Martin
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Should the consequences for judicial misconduct be different depending solely on the identity of the person who makes a complaint? In a surprising decision, the Ontario Court of Appeal in Lauzon v Ontario (Justices of the Peace Review Council) holds that dispositions downstream from complaints by Crown attorneys (or any other member of the executive branch of government) should be lower than other dispositions because the vindication of such complaints is inherently dangerous to judicial independence and the separation of powers. In this comment, I look closely at the reasoning in Lauzon and respectfully suggest that that reasoning is problematic. …
Crown Prosecutors And Government Lawyers: A Legal Ethics Analysis Of Under-Funding, Andrew Flavelle Martin
Crown Prosecutors And Government Lawyers: A Legal Ethics Analysis Of Under-Funding, Andrew Flavelle Martin
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Crown prosecutors and government lawyers are reliant on governments for their funding but exert no meaningful influence or control over such funding decisions. Nonetheless, this article demonstrates that as a question of law, under-funded Crown prosecutors and government lawyers risk violating their professional duties. If so, they must promptly inform the government, refuse new matters and, if necessary, withdraw from existing matters. If the government purports to block such refusal or withdrawal and does not provide adequate funding, resignation will become necessary. While law societies will likely not prioritize disciplinary action against such lawyers, the policy reasons to forego such …