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 The CBA’s Ethics and Professional Responsibility Committee has published its revised Code of Professional Conduct which has been updated to reflect the realities of practising law in today’s society. The new Code contains major revisions in two areas: conflicts of interest and clients’ language rights.
“Standards of professional ethics form the backdrop for everything lawyers do. In adhering to codes of conduct, we uphold the long-standing values of our profession and ensure protection of the public,” says CBA President Kevin Carroll of Barrie, Ontario. “The revised Code makes an important contribution to the delivery of competent legal services according to the highest ethical traditions of our profession.”
For the first time, the CBA’s Code is available exclusively online, in fully searchable format. “This functionality allows lawyers quick and easy access to the document as well as the ability to search it and obtain results virtually instantly,” explains immediate past President Guy Joubert of Winnipeg.
Practice Tools
Searching the Code
There are several ways to search the Code.
1. By Chapter. The chapters appear along the left-hand column of the pdf. Clicking on the chapter name or number links to the relevant text.
2. By Keyword. The search function can be activated as follows:
“Find” in the toolbar will locate the first instance of the keyword or phrase. “Next” and “previous” buttons provide further navigation.
The binocular icon on the far left, and Shift+Control+F open a box. Type in the word or phrase, which will then appear highlighted in the text. Multiple occurrences of the keyword will be listed and are linked to the relevant text.
About the Code
The CBA adopted its first Code of Professional Conduct in 1920. The CBA Code plays an integral role in the Canadian legal profession. Some Canadian jurisdictions have adopted the CBA Code, with occasional modifications, as their own. In other jurisdictions, law societies refer to the CBA Code when they interpret or amend their codes. Academics, law students and Canadian lawyers working outside Canada refer to the CBA Code when they need to know Canadian standards of conduct. In this era of globalized law practice and increased mobility between Canadian jurisdictions, it is important to have common conduct rules for all Canadian lawyers.
The 2009 edition of the Code reflects the realities of practicing law in today's society in substance as well as in form. For the first time, it is published online in this fully searchable format (to search, use Shift+Ctrl+F).
CBA Ethics and Professional Responsibility Committee
The Ethics and Professional Responsibility Committee is dedicated to fostering and advancing ethical and professional conduct and standards in the legal profession. It is responsible for identifying and studying issues relating to ethics and professional responsibility, recommending changes to the CBA Code of Professional Conduct, and developing practice tools to assist lawyers in identifying and fulfilling their professional responsibilities.
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