Ethics, Civility and Professional Responsibility in the Courtroom, Mediation and Beyond - 2018

  • November 15, 2019
  • Ayushi Kiran, articling student, Crown Law Office - Civil

This article gives an overview of the CPD program conducted by the Insurance Law Section in 2018 which was well received and is returning on November 22, 2019. This program contains a total of 3 hours of Professionalism content and it qualifies for LAWPRO Risk Management Credit.

Note: This program is returning on November 22, 2019. Register here.

Responsible Civility

Joseph Groia, opened the program with the pertinent question: Could the $7 million (almost) spent by both sides in prosecuting him for his alleged incivility during the Felderhof trial, be put to better use?[i].

He addressed the importance of civility by judges and prosecutors in the light of public interest and why there should be the same standard of civility for judges and prosecutors as other members of the profession.

Groia: The Final Chapter

Deborah Templer, from McCarthy Tetrault LLP, and Cara F. Zwibel, the director of the Fundamental Freedoms Program, Canadian Civil Liberties Association, delved further into the approaches taken by the parties and interveners before the Supreme court of Canada in Groia v. Law Society of Upper Canada[ii] to the legal test for “incivility”. The panel elaborated on how the Supreme Court endorsed the Appeal Panel’s test — consisting of what the lawyer said, the manner and frequency in which it was said, and the presiding judge’s reaction to the lawyer’s behaviour[iii] — but disagreed with their application to Mr. Groia’s conduct[iv].