Law Times

LAW TIMES / APRIL 7, 2008 NEWS CBA president speaks to Convocation ers at the Law Society of Upper Canada's March Convocation, using the opportunity to hit on a number of controversial issues facing the profession — from contentious conflict of interest rules to media attacks. "Our challenge is simple. We must remain vigilant defenders of the rule of law," said Amyot, the Montreal-based Heenan Blaikie LLP partner who prac- tises litigation and commercial law. "We must ensure that Ca- nadians understand the critical importance of the rule of law to the fabric of our democratic society. With our combined goodwill and commitment, the people of Ontario, indeed across Canada, can rest certain that they are well served." Amyot, who will be succeeded by Franco-Manitoban Guy Jou- bert when his term ends this sum- mer, spoke to benchers on three issues: independence of the bar, the need for well-defined ethical guidelines, and the "erosion" of the rule of law. Amyot said, "Self-governance of the legal profession is under heavier scrutiny than at any other time in memory," referring to a controversial article in Maclean's magazine last year that he said "played to stereotyped views of our profession." Keep defending the rule of law, says Amyot C BY ROBERT TODD Law Times anadian Bar Associa- tion president Bernard Amyot spoke to bench- The article, titled "Lawyers are rats," was an interview with legal scholar and ex-Bay Street lawyer Philip Slayton on his book Lawyers Gone Bad: Money, Sex and Madness in Canada's Legal Profession. Amyot noted that the CBA immediately de- nounced the arguments in the story and had its counter-argu- ments run in a subsequent issue. Amyot noted that Law Society Treasurer Gavin MacKenzie also spoke out against the article. "We were proud to remind Canadians that the cases of inappropriate behaviour cited in the article were already the subject of law society sanc- tions," said Amyot. "It is proof that our self-regulatory system works well." In terms of access to justice, Amyot turned to the CBA's legal-aid test case. Noting that the association hoped to cre- ate a constitutional right to civil legal aid for those in need, Amyot said it seems inconsis- tent that the British Columbia trial court — whose decision was recently upheld at appeal — found that the CBA lacked a single aspect of the test for public interest standing. "It's ironic that the court would say that it's up to the vic- tims to assert this right, while they are in fact the very ones who cannot afford to launch such a challenge," he said. "We believe that the CBA should be allowed to speak on their behalf. I'm convinced that LSUC will publish dismissed applications BY ROBERT TODD Law Times I n a nod to openness and public accountability, the Law Society of Upper Canada has decided to start publishing dismissed hearing- panel applications in the same way it discloses other panel decisions. "It is the tribunals committee's view that in the spirit of complete transparency and balance, there's no reason to distinguish between those situations in which a notice of application on behalf of the law society has been successful and resulted in a finding of professional misconduct and those instances in which a dismissal has taken place," the committee chairman, Bencher Mark Sandler, told Convocation. The law society posts notices of applications involving members on its web site, but previously, if an application was dismissed, that information was not published. The committee's report notes that, while such information would be included in decisions posted on CanLII in cases where reasons are given, members of the public are unlikely to look there for such material. "While there may be some licensees who prefer not to have the information about the original complaint made known again, the committee is of the view that on balance it seems only fair to make it known when a licensee has been found not guilty of professional misconduct or conduct unbecoming. Moreover, it is in the public interest," states the report. In some circumstances, members may ask the panel to order that such material not be published, said Sandler. But he added that "would be an extraordinary, I think, hurdle to overcome." The committee also will report back to Convocation on a request from Bencher Bob Aaron regarding the web posting of information in cases where a matter is withdrawn after information regarding an adjournment has been published. "I personally agree with the perspective, as I know some of our tribunal committee members do, that there's no reason in principle why the withdrawal should not be published in the same way as a dismissal," said Sandler. "I had some issues with the idea of retroactively removing an adjournment or another matter that had been the subject of reasons or otherwise published from the public record, having already made its way into the public record," he said, assuring Aaron that the committee will consider the issue and report back to benchers. LT Dye & Durham is known for our Minute Books, Corporate Seals, Share Certificates, Name Plates, Signs, Stamps and our grey Mark Maker® Seal a modern design that's compact and lightweight. To order please quote product code #22500010, also available in Black or Burgundy. 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He said more and more clients 'Self-governance of the legal profession is under heavier scru- tiny than at any other time in memory,' said Bernard Amyot in a speech to the Law Society of Upper Canada. our test case has merit and that we will be proven right in due course." Amyot said: "We believe ac- cess to justice should be consid- ered as important as health care and education." Turning to the issue of con- flicts of interest, Amyot called the establishment last year of are using confidentiality rules as "a sword, as a mere tactical weap- on, in the judicial arena." Sixteen lawyers have been named to the task force, includ- ing chairman Scott Jolliffe, CEO of Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP in Toronto. Amyot noted the role law societies will play in any at- tempts to reconstitute conflicts regulations. "We're very conscious of the DD LT RX3RDG-02 Corp ad 3/27/08 2:50 PM Page 1 fact that we're not the regulator of the legal profession — the law societies are," said Amyot. "Any changes to the conflict of interest provisions in professional codes of conduct must be in the public interest or they won't be made." Amyot also touched on legal matters beyond Canadian bor- ders. He noted that in February the CBA joined with the Paris Bar and the Law Society of Eng- land and Wales to draft a joint statement demanding the closure of the United States' military pris- on in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. That statement has since been co-signed by 34 other bar associa- tions from across the globe. "Indeed, these are troubling times," said Amyot. "But it is exactly at times like these that lawyers and judges must rise up and reiterate how critically important it is to stand by our principles." Law society government and public affairs committee mem- ber Bencher Doug Lewis says it's important for Amyot to speak with the stewards of lawyer regu- lation in Ontario. "He was doing what's impor- tant, and that's getting out to see the constituents," says Lew- is. "We've got to work together. He made that point and I'd em- phasize it too. That we're all in this boat together and we bet- ter start rowing together, rather than spending a lot of time over turf wars." We offer the widest selection of Corporate Supplies in Canada. PAGE 3 LT W e ' r e a y C a n a p d i m a n o a n

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