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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 2, 2010
OTTAWA – The Canadian Bar Association (CBA) has released a document answering frequently asked questions (FAQs) about solicitor-client privilege and client confidentiality, designed to complement to the CBA Code of Professional Conduct, and help lawyers in their everyday practice.
“Lawyers have a duty, as expressed in the ethical codes of the profession, to hold client information in strict confidence,” says Paul Paton, chair of the CBA’s Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility. “The duty itself is straightforward, but how it applies in practical situations may not always be clear. We hope these FAQs will assist lawyers in identifying and fulfilling their professional responsibilities.”
The FAQs pose 17 questions that deal with ethical issues that lawyers encounter on a daily basis, ranging from exceptions to solicitor-client privilege, to joint retainers, to how to preserve privilege when communicating electronically.
Produced by the CBA’s Ethics and Professional Responsibility Committee, the questions and answers follow two earlier practice tools – on new technologies and marketing practices. Law Professor Adam Dodek of University of Ottawa served as research director.
The publication makes the important distinction between privilege and confidentiality, as outlined in the CBA Code of Professional Conduct. “The duty of confidentiality is distinguished from the common law rule of solicitor-client privilege with respect to oral or written communications between client and lawyer. The duty of confidentiality is wider and applies without regard to the nature or source of the information or to the fact that others may share the knowledge.”
Designed to supplement the CBA Code of Professional Conduct, the FAQs are published in a convenient, searchable, online format. The FAQs can be found on the CBA website.
The two earlier sets of guidelines are also available on the CBA website, along with the CBA Code of Professional Conduct:
The Canadian Bar Association is dedicated to support for the rule of law, and improvement in the law and the administration of justice. Some 37,000 lawyers, law teachers, and law students from across Canada are members.
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MEDIA CONTACT:
Hannah Bernstein
The Canadian Bar Association
Tel: 613-237-2925 x 146
E-mail: hannahb@cba.org
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