Since 2011 when mandatory professionalism hours were introduced, there have been many presentations on civility, ethics and professional conduct and references to the rules as "tools to be used by combatants", or "constraints on lawyers".
Malcolm Mercer offers a refreshing new perspective on the purpose of legal ethics and the rules of professional conduct – they are the rules of war for resolving disputes in our adversarial system.
In his presentation, Mercer refers to a 2013 book entitled, "Why Nations Fail" by Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson. The book correlates the success or failure of a nation to the rule of law and diffusion of power over many other factors. Therefore, the rule of law is of the utmost importance.
He goes on to say that in order to preserve the rule of law, clients must have reasonable confidence in the system and faith that there will be a fair result. Factors such as candour, conflict of interests and confidentiality are pillars of the adversarial system.
Legal ethics and rules of professional conduct which govern these concepts are the rules to ensure the success of the adversarial system.
Having watched the video and considered the case, what do you think? Feel free to contact me and let me know your opinion.
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*see individual programs and jurisidictional allowances for accredited hours/requirements for Canadian law societies.