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Competence Working in a small community brings many opportunities to have a broad practice and gain competence in many areas of law. You also have an added advantage of being able to take control of the areas in which you practise. But it’s not easy to reach the necessary level of competence in each area of law if you are working on own or without a senior lawyer to serve as a mentor. The challenge is finding the right balance between taking on new cases for which you have some but not full knowledge and experience, and knowing when you don’t know enough and can’t provide competent, good quality service. The primary concern has to be the client’s best interests. ‘If you’re not familiar with an area of law, you learn it. You get a lot of experience early on in your career.” [ibid] When practising in a small or close community, always consider your duties of competence in Rule 3.1, and the need to perform all legal services undertaken on a client’s behalf to the standard of a competent lawyer. Also consider your duties of quality of service in Rule 3.2. Your responsibility is to remain objective, exercise good professional judgment, and be able to provide sound legal advice at all times. Having longstanding and/or personal relationships with clients can make this challenging. If you become involved in providing pro bono services for a friend or neighbour, you are required to provide the same quality of service as you would to a paying client. Sometimes the lines between lawyer and friend become too blurred. The Commentary in Rule 3.1-2 provides: “A lawyer should not undertake a matter without honestly feeling competent to handle it, or being able to become competent without undue delay, risk or expense to the client.” If the lawyer would like to take on a new matter that will allow him or her to gain new knowledge and experience, then be honest with the client, don’t charge them for the time it takes you to get up to speed. Collaborate with another lawyer who does have the experience and can help train you, and get the client’s consent to allow you the time to become competent. Community involvement Becoming an integral part of the community, whether you grew up in a large city, Aboriginal community, or rural community, gives you the opportunity for a readymade group of clients, and less need to market your legal services. Your level of community engagement will be high and this will appeal to your clients. You will have opportunities to serve your communities in other ways such as in leadership positions such as an MLA, board chair, church leader, etc. However, this can also create situations that give rise to conflicts of interest, clients with unreasonable expectations, and who make assumptions about what you can and will do for them. In situations involving large families, there can also be a lack of clarity about exactly who your client is and who can give instructions. If you become a lawyer holding a public office, consider your unique ethical duties under Rule 7.4. Confidentiality Be vigilant about your duties of confidentiality (Rule 3.3), and the need to avoid conflicts of interest (Rule 3.4). Always be clear when you are acting in a solicitor-client relationship, or when you are serving in some other capacity (even just as a friend!) but also happen to be a lawyer. Protect yourself and others from assumptions that can be made because you are a lawyer. When you are a lawyer dealing with a client with whom you have another relationship, such as friend or neighbour, remember your duty of honesty and candour (Rule 3.2) – some lawyers find it much easier to be truly honest and candid with a client about the strength of their case (or lack thereof) where they have no other relationship. Lawyers have frequently ended up in hot water when they have been reluctant to be candid with a client because they are also a friend. Withdrawal Breakdowns in solicitor-client relationships become even more difficult and painful when you are both living in a small or close community. When considering your duties with regard to withdrawal under Rule 3.7, it is important to remain as objective as possible, and depersonalize the situation to the extent you can. Be very careful about what information you disclose to successor counsel. Make no assumptions about what the new lawyer knows because you both work in a small or close community. Keep things professional and remember your duties with respect to maintaining confidentiality and protecting privilege. Quality of service Many lawyers who practise in small or close communities have an abundance of clients and work, and the challenge becomes how to provide good quality of service at all times. Such lawyers have to watch out for having a practice that becomes unmanageable too quickly. There is a challenge to find the right balance between keeping overhead low while having appropriate and affordable resources to allow you to properly serve your clients. Remember that being competent also requires the ability to ”manage one’s practice effectively” and to “pursue appropriate professional development to maintain and enhance legal knowledge and attributes” (Rule 3.1). In order to provide good quality of service, a lawyer has to “maintain office staff, facilities and equipment adequate to the lawyer’s practice.” (Rule 3.2) Administration of justice Working in a small or close community allows you to develop strong working relationships with others involved in the administration of justice within that community; e.g. Crown attorneys, judges, community and social workers, community leaders. Again, lawyers must be mindful of the duty to avoid conflicts of interest, loosing objectivity and the need to maintain formal and well-documented client files, regardless of how close you are to the client or the community. Unique issues in small community practice The legal issues and considerations found in the small rural practice will be different to what a lawyer was exposed to in law school and, more than likely, during articling (especially if the articling was done in a large downtown law firm). 24 The Society Record
Small rural and close communities – whether based on geographical boundaries or other societal boundaries such as race, language or ethnicity – may face similar cultural norms. People in these communities are more likely to know of and speculate on the affairs of those living and operating in the community. In other words, people are more likely to know each other’s business. Community members expect and perhaps even demand involvement of lawyers in local organizations or events. There is a greater expectation that lawyers in a small community will take on leadership roles in organizations or lead on local issues. ‘Community’ has many definitions Because of the close-knit nature of small communities, this means that lawyers living in those communities are more likely to know different citizens involved in a legal issue. All of these factors can lead to a blurring of the ethical lines between client, lawyer and community. The lawyer in a small community practice needs to be vigilant in understanding these various cultural norms and pressures evident in a small community practice. Understanding the legal needs and issues faced by people living in a small community practice includes understanding the cultural norms of the community. Additionally, working in a small community practice means juggling various demands and expectations from your clients, while adhering to the Society’s Code of Professional Conduct and various practice standards. Those starting a practice in a small community can best address these extra pressures by being aware of the cultural norms and pressures evident in the community, being clear about their role as a lawyer and their role as a member of the community; to understand that every engagement with community members is a learning opportunity, not only to learn about the norms of the community, but also potential issues and their own personal expectations, strengths and weakness. Resources The Society can help with some of these issues, through practice advice, support and other resources. • Mentorship: One of the best ways of learning how to sort through these issues is by having a mentor. For information about the LIANS and NSBS Mentorship Program, see www.lians.ca/rpm/mentorship_program/, in the Risk and Practice Management section of the LIANS website. • Ethics advice: Lawyers are encouraged to contact the Society whenever they encounter an ethical issue they are unsure about. The Society’s Professional Responsibility Counsel is always available to discuss the situations that lawyers are facing, and to provide lawyers with assistance in working their way through the Code of Professional Conduct and interpreting the rules of ethics that may apply. In some circumstances, the PR Counsel will seek the views of the Ethics Advisory Committee, which is comprised of five senior members of the Bar with diverse legal practices and significant experience in the area of legal ethics. • Equity Office: Contact Emma Halpern, the Society’s Equity Officer, for advice or support, at equity@nsbs.org or 902 422 1491. The ethical challenges are varied, depending on the type of community in which a lawyer practises. Shawna Hoyte QC, of the Dalhousie Legal Aid Service on Gottingen Street in Halifax, and Society President Timothy Daley QC, a sole practitioner in New Glasgow, shared a few thoughts on the subject with Emma Halpern, the Society’s Equity Officer. Q: What did you think about this article? SH: The article did a great job at highlighting the similarities, challenges and benefits between practice in rural communities and that of small communities and close communities. Many of the comments were on point in terms of my work as a lawyer from a small and close community. With respect to the comments about practice in rural communities, I believe rural practice presents many opportunities for African Nova Scotian lawyers and, given that we are familiar with the challenges of working with people we know or are directly connected to, we would be capable of adjusting to such challenges with ease. TD: I found the article to be a very helpful summary of many of the challenges faced by rural practitioners. It provides the statistics to confirm what we all know intuitively to be true, based on our own experiences. Rural practice is rewarding but increasingly challenging and we need to work together to find solutions to these challenges in the public interest. Q: Did any of the identified challenges resonate with you? SH: The article speaks to the challenges I face on a daily basis as a lawyer from the African Nova Scotian community: dealing with the expectations, assumptions, challenges, and commitments to family, clients and community, while adhering to the the Code of Professional Conduct. It becomes a balancing act between one’s personal life and professional life as a lawyer. Coming from a close community, I am always in my role as a lawyer whether I want to be or not. I am always cognizant of what I say and who I say it to. When there are so few of us, the demand from the community is at times overwhelming. I believe I have a responsibility to my community to do what I can to promote and provide access to justice, which is a relatively new concept to the African Nova Scotian community. TD: Many of the challenges indentified resonated with me. For example, I see my local Bar is aging quickly. Even after practising 21 years, I am still not close to being among the most senior members in my county. I see lawyers in my community working (continued on next page) Spring 2013 25
Page 1 and 2: the SOCIETY RECORD VOLUME 31 | NO.1
Page 3 and 4: Contents VOLUME 31 | NO 1 | Spring
Page 5 and 6: the president’s view As I travel
Page 7 and 8: BRIEFS Nova Scotia lawyers honoured
Page 9 and 10: BRIEFS Annual networking events for
Page 11 and 12: society news Council updates Societ
Page 13 and 14: society news For more details on th
Page 15 and 16: Madonna was an active participant i
Page 17 and 18: Illegal downloading of music, film
Page 19 and 20: Society’s successful initiative t
Page 21 and 22: say the public policy reasons are n
Page 23: “These dwindling numbers [of lawy
Page 27 and 28: Photo by Eliot Wright/Provided by N
Page 29 and 30: “Volunteering allows for a break
Page 31 and 32: in police service delivery. They pr
Page 33 and 34: A desire to broaden and deepen her
Page 35 and 36: The students appreciate the opportu
Page 37 and 38: 7. Update! Make sure you have the l
Page 39 and 40: Spring 2013 39

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