the SOCIETY RECORD - Nova Scotia Barristers' Society

Photo by Nick Pearce/Dalhousie University
Ethics in context
22nd F.B. Wickwire Memorial Lecture
Ethics are elusive. Ethics are evolving. The one thing ethics
are not: easy. That was the message six legal experts delivered
to a packed audience at the annual F.B. Wickwire Memorial
Lecture in Professional Responsibility and Legal Ethics.
Each panelist tackled a different – and contemporary – ethical
issue. The first speaker Philip Girard, professor of law, history and
Canadian studies at the Schulich School of Law, looked at ethics and
the profession today by looking back at the two traditions that have
shaped legal ethics in Canada – British and American.
Although the British had a code of etiquette, it was never formally
taught, said Mr. Girard. “It was simply absorbed. There was only one
rule: what would a gentleman do?”
In the U.S., on the other hand, where a much more individualistic
legal society existed, the profession began to enshrine in writing what
constituted ethical behaviour.
Canada took a hybrid approach, said Mr. Girard. The first code was
developed by the Canadian Bar Association in 1920, but it would be
another 50 years before discussions over what constitutes good ethics
began in earnest.
The issue is an important one – and still
frequently debated. Sarah Bradley, an
associate professor of law at Dalhousie,
pointed out in her presentation that
donalee Moulton
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while corporate frauds of recent years have grabbed headlines,
lawyers’ associations with these scandals have gone relatively scot free.
“The reality is most of these crimes could not be carried out without
professional facilitators, particularly the accountants and the lawyers.
Yet we rarely see these people held to account,” she said.
When the net is cast wider, and professionals are drawn into the fray,
it is usually accountants who are more likely to go down with the
corporation. In the Enron scandal, for example, the accounting firm
of Arthur Andersen was destroyed, but the main law firm associated
with the company emerged virtually unscathed, Ms. Bradley noted.
Lawyers justify their behavior in these situations, she added. “We use
the excuse ‘it depends’.”
There are undoubtedly grey areas. Geoffrey Loomer, an assistant
professor at Schulich, discussed the ethical dividing line between
tax evasion and tax avoidance. “It’s obvious counselling tax evasion
is bad news, but tax avoidance is more difficult,” he noted. “Some
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