Managing Conflicts | CPDonline.ca

Managing Conflicts

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Credits
Professionalism (Ethics, etc.): 0.75
50 minutes
Published
2018
Presenter(s)
Simon Chester
Source
Simon Chester
Provider
CPDOnline.ca
Language
English
Length
50 minutes
Price
$209.00 plus tax

As the Supreme Court of Canada has stressed, the rules of conflicts of interest are among the most important of our professional obligations because they engage our duties of confidentiality and loyalty. As important as the Rules are they are also complex and difficult to apply, especially outside the litigation context. What is their impact on lawyers in private practice and on general counsel?  How can each adapt to respond to the new rules? The session will review the key Supreme Court of Canada decisions which have also been enshrined in new rules developed by the Federation of Law Societies of Canada and adopted across the country.

  • Why do lawyers need to worry about conflicts of interest?
  • How should law firms manage risk and adapt to the new norms?
  • What are the implications of recent conflict cases in the courts, which have resulted in the highest damage award ever for a conflicts breach?
  • Are the rules different when sophisticated institutional clients are involved?
  • Avoiding traps in joint retainers
  • How can lawyers avoid problems?
  • What tools will help lawyers cope?

Presenters

Simon Chester

Simon Chester is counsel for conflicts and regulatory matters in Gowling WLG’s Toronto office, and the leader of the firm’s Client and Matter Acceptance Team.

For 30 years, he has helped law firms navigate the complex and shifting landscape of professional regulation and solve an array of professional crises that threaten regulatory compliance, liability risk and reputational harm. With roots in three continents, Simon is a global lawyer and is qualified in both Europe and North America.

Simon is one of Canada’s leading experts on conflicts of interest, and was instrumental in preparing the 2008 Report of the CBA Task Force on Conflicts of Interest. Before joining Gowling WLG, he was general counsel to a major Canadian law firm, including handling the regulatory aspects of its dissolution. His legal career includes a decade of public service, 30 years of experience as a Bay Street partner with large national firms and teaching at Osgoode Hall Law School. He is also the co-founder of slaw.ca, one of the most widely read legal blogs in Canada.

Within large law firms, he has acted as the firm’s lawyer, handling conflicts of interest, risk management, regulatory compliance and professional crises. He has also been a pioneer in applying advanced technologies to the practice of law, and in adapting global law firms to emerging conflicts, multiple regulators, security issues and systems aspects of data protection.