First Year Law Guide

In this equally inspiring and troubling book, leading lawyers and legal academics draw on case studies, biography, and memoir to explore the relationship between ethics and the law in Canada.

This book examines the revitalization of Indigenous peoples’ relationship to their own laws and, in so doing, attempts to enrich Canadian constitutional law more generally. Organized around the seven Anishinaabe grandmother and grandfather teachings of love, truth, bravery, humility, wisdom, honesty, and respect, this book explores ethics in relation to Aboriginal issues including title, treaties, legal education, and residential schools. With characteristic depth and sensitivity, John Borrows brings insights drawn from philosophy, law, and political science to bear on some of the most pressing issues that arise in contemplating the interaction between Canadian state law and Indigenous legal traditions. In the course of a wide-ranging but accessible inquiry, he discusses such topics as Indigenous agency, self-determination, legal pluralism, and power. In its use of Anishinaabe stories and methodologies drawn from the emerging field of Indigenous studies, Law’s Indigenous Ethics makes a significant contribution to scholarly debate and is an essential resource for readers seeking a deeper understanding of Indigenous rights, societies, and cultures.

This text is a comprehensive discussion of the professional responsibilities of lawyers in Canada. The book addresses issues related to the "law of ethics and lawyering" and provides tools for assisting students and practitioners in exercising the moral judgment which underlies all ethical decisions by lawyers. Case law and case studies are used to illustrate points and suggest solutions to problems that lawyers typically face during their day-to-day practice. Older editions also available in the same Call Number Range in the catalogued collection.

The importance of ethical behaviour and professional responsibility has long been something lawyers have insisted is a hallmark of their chosen profession. However, many lawyers would argue that a discussion of these matters is necessary only when considering isolated and occasional cases of aberrant behaviour. In Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility, Allan Hutchinson makes a convincing case that this view no longer serves the profession well. He argues that the profound changes in the way in which law is practised, and the demographic shifts among those who practise it, demand a new and systematic approach to the subject—one that stresses personal responsibility over professional regulation. Professor Hutchinson’s book is both an accessible introduction to legal ethics and professional responsibility for students of law and a provocative call to arms for the profession as a whole. The second edition of the book contains significant discussion and analysis of the Canadian Bar Association’s new Code of Professional Conduct, which was adopted in 2006.