Professional Responsibility

This course is designed to cover the fundamental concepts of professional responsibility of Canadian lawyers. 

The regulation of lawyers in Canada is a matter primarily within the jurisdiction of the provinces. Because the laws, rules, and regulations that govern lawyers, including professional codes of conduct, are currently different for each province and territory, this course does not purport to cover (and students are not expected to read) each of these different regulatory regimes. Rather, for purposes of this course, the Federation of Law Societies of Canada’s (“FLSC”) Model Code of Professional Conduct (the “Model Code”) will be referred to as the basic and primary guide for professional conduct in Canada. After successfully completing this course, each student should be familiar with the regulatory model of licensure for lawyers, the Model Code and the expectations that legal regulators have of its licensees. To assist with building this familiarity after the course is completed, students may wish to consult the FLSC’s Interactive Model Code.