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The lawyer’s role

A lawyer clarifies the legal implications of your personal and professional choices, helps you prevent disputes, and provides assistance in negotiations and in drawing up contracts.

A lawyer safeguards your legal interests in dealings with governmental authorities, individuals, or even yourself. He or she pursues remedies, files claims, represents you in court, and dissuades reckless actions.

As a trusted professional, a lawyer is bound by legal confidentiality. He or she receives your disclosures and explains clearly the nature of his or her involvement.

A lawyer undergoes rigorous and ongoing training. He or she remains independent from political, economic, or judicial influence, advising and defending you freely and is guided solely by your legitimate interests. Independence gives a lawyer the freedom to speak openly in court and the right to accept or decline a case at his or her discretion.

Lawyers are held to strict ethical standards. Their professional liability insurance protects clients against potential damage arising out of their work. Thanks to their expertise and experience, lawyers offer unique and dedicated legal advice.

Legal ethics  

In order to justify and preserve the trust at the heart of the lawyer-client relationship, lawyers adhere to strict professional rules established and regularly updated by the Bar Association, which makes sure that they are duly complied with (through disciplinary measures).

Updated and monitored by the Bar Association, these rules are handed down from one generation of lawyers to the next so as to the core values and integrity of the profession.

The relationships of lawyers with third parties are guided by three fundamental principles: independence, loyalty, and professional confidentiality.

A lawyer’s duty of independence means they must advise and represent you freely, guided solely by your legitimate interests and the pursuit of justice. This independence is essential to fulfilling the lawyer’s mission. 

Legal ethics safeguard this independence, especially by forbidding lawyers from engaging in other paid activities (with rare exceptions, such as teaching or politics) or from taking part in matters where conflicts of interest may arise (for example, between your interests and those of another client they advise or defend).

Lawyers act with integrity and uphold justice and moral standards, reinforcing trust in the lawyer-client relationship. They avoid any conduct that might harm the honour of their profession.

Lawyers are bound by professional confidentiality and must not disclose your information. You are encouraged to speak openly with your lawyer, as full understanding is essential to your defence. Communications between lawyers and clients are also confidential for faster and less costly resolutions than formal proceedings.

What happens of these principles are breached? 

Filing a complaint  

The Bar Association is responsible for addressing and punishing lawyers for breaches of ethical conduct. If a lawyer fails to uphold his or her ethical duties, any affected party may file a complaint with the President of the Bar, who will investigate or delegate the matter to another member of the Bar, then decide whether to refer the case to the disciplinary council. Both the lawyer concerned and the complainant may be heard and represented by legal counsel if they so wish.

Disciplinary sanctions 

 The disciplinary council may impose various penalties, ranging from a warning to temporary suspension, or even permanent disbarment.

Other legal remedies  

Although complainants do not participate directly in disciplinary proceedings, they may still initiate civil or criminal actions against the lawyer before the courts.