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The Duty Of Legislative Counsel As Guardians Of The Statute Book: Sui Generis Or A Professional Duty Of Lawyers?, Andrew Flavelle Martin
The Duty Of Legislative Counsel As Guardians Of The Statute Book: Sui Generis Or A Professional Duty Of Lawyers?, Andrew Flavelle Martin
Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press
Legislative counsel—those who draft legislation for the executive or for legislative assemblies—are largely overlooked in the Canadian legal literature and case law. One respect in which legislative counsel appear to be unique is their duty as guardians or keepers of the statute book. This article argues that this Guardian duty is best understood as a professional duty of legislative counsel as lawyers. In the same way that all lawyers have professional duties as officers of the court, though these duties are most relevant to litigators, all lawyers have professional duties as officers of the statute book, though these duties are …
The Premier Should Not Also Be The Attorney General: Roncarelli V Duplessis Revisited As A Cautionary Tale In Legal Ethics And Professionalism, Andrew Flavelle Martin
The Premier Should Not Also Be The Attorney General: Roncarelli V Duplessis Revisited As A Cautionary Tale In Legal Ethics And Professionalism, Andrew Flavelle Martin
Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press
From time to time, a Premier or Prime Minister appoints themself as Attorney General. In this article, I argue that this dual portfolio is inherently and incurably problematic and should be avoided and indeed prohibited. I do so from the perspective of legal ethics and professionalism. The springboard for my analysis is the conduct of Quebec Premier and Attorney General Maurice Duplessis in the classic case of Roncarelli v Duplessis. While there may well be perceived benefits that tempt Premiers to serve in the dual role, any lawyer who does so unavoidably violates his or her professional obligations. For …