Amid the media frenzy over the morality play unfolding in an Ottawa courtroom, the bar has a lesson to glean from the argument over the interaction between the Canadian Senate’s expense rules and the Criminal Code. (“Blame the rules, not Mike Duffy, defence says“; “Mike Duffy trial: Defence to continue attack on vagueness of Senate rules.”) Mr. Duffy’s defence lawyer contends the Senate’s self-imposed rules permitted practices such as claiming housing expenses for property in the province of a senator’s appointment, even though the senator resided in another province most of the time. The Crown argues strict observance of this expense rule, to satisfy a questionable…
law & ethics blog by lee akazaki
Tagged Professionalism
Why can’t a lawyer be more like a share capital corporation? A reflection on the CBA Legal Futures Final Report
Henry Higgins, in My Fair Lady, famously sang, “Why can’t a woman be more like a man?” For Higgins, an elocution teacher who traded in British class prejudice by offering to improve clients’ social standing through posh talk, the education of a woman was essentially a troublesome Alternative Business Structure (ABS) – he could work with the…
2013 : The year of ethical lapses among high-performing professionals
If there has been a mystery from the events of 2013, it is the emergence in Canadian public life of respected professionals as instigators of questionable deals and conflicts of interest. The intrigue surrounding Senator Mike Duffy captured national attention, but we were also mindful of the fact that, in Québec, it was getting hard to find anyone with a clean past to step into the glare of municipal politics. In law, we ended the year with the disappearance and death of Javed Heydary, and the trail of missing millions from his trust account. What is common to the cast…
Choisissez le ‘nouveau’ professionnalisme juridique
Le droit et le combat (For English version, click here or click on the image – right) Les outils de notre métier sont-ils les insultes et les arguments ad hominem? Est-ce que nous allons collaborer à la suppression des puissances des avocats plaideurs? Suivrons-nous le « mouvement de civilité » en droit canadien? Ou devons-nous continuer avec les clichés de notre passé, comme le juge Riddell a capturé dans l’arrêt de 1915 dans Dale v Toronto Co. RW: « Le procès devant un jury est un combat et non un thé anglais » ? Ce n’est pas un argument nouveau. Au contraire,…
Managing “wasted time” – Dealing with non-lawyer adversaries
Few experiences in a lawyer’s work are as infuriating as having your time wasted by a lay adversary. But it is easy to allow frustration to steer you off the path to a desired outcome, or to a good result in litigation. The sooner you realize the futility of convincing someone incapable of understanding why you are right, the faster you will reach the best result for your client. In my April Canadian Lawyer column, you will find that interacting with non-lawyers still requires you to think strategically. ~ ~ ~ Peu d’expériences dans le travail d’un avocat sont aussi exaspérants…
Keynote Address to ABA YLD Conference
Lee Akazaki delivered the Keynote Address to ABA YLD Conference, on August 5, 2011. He talked about the “OF” and “FOR” dichotomy of being a lawyer and a representative professional. Click ABA YLD Keynote for the full text. Terms of use / Mentions légales