Here is the Code of Professional Conduct for Lawyers – from the Law Society.
I have pulled out some interesting pieces I think are good for us to know. If you feel the lawyer you are dealing with isn’t being ethical, you can file a complaint with the Law Society.
You can also file an improper conduct complaint with the BC HRT.
There are the top 3 school law firms that I know about who take on the majority of education law cases. They all operate in similar ways in how they interact with parents.
Here are some code of ethics pieces that are good to know.
Encouraging compromise or settlement
3.2-4 A lawyer must advise and encourage a client to compromise or settle a dispute whenever it is possible to do so on a reasonable basis and must discourage the client from commencing or continuing useless legal proceedings.
(School district lawyers tend to delay and want these processes to drag on. They think parents will get tired and give up. Part of me wonders if they are also taking advantage of the system and see us parents as cash cows for their law firm.)
7.2 Responsibility to lawyers and others
Courtesy and good faith
7.2-1 A lawyer must be courteous and civil and act in good faith with all persons with whom the lawyer has dealings in the course of their practice.
(If they play dirty, not only can you file an improper conduct complaint with the HRT, but also a complaint with the law society.)
7.2-4 A lawyer must not, in the course of a professional practice, send correspondence or otherwise communicate to a client, another lawyer or any other person in a manner that is abusive, offensive, or otherwise inconsistent with the proper tone of a professional communication from a lawyer.
[heading amended 11/2024]
Communicating with an unrepresented person
7.2-9 When a lawyer deals on a client’s behalf with an unrepresented person, the lawyer must:
(a) urge the unrepresented person to obtain independent legal representation;
(b) take care to see that the unrepresented person is not proceeding under the impression that their interests will be protected by the lawyer; and
(c) make it clear to the unrepresented person that the lawyer is acting exclusively in the interests of the client.
[[heading added, rule amended 11/2024]
(NOTE: The school district lawyers will ALWAYS do whatever is best for their client. Not you. Not your child. If they are doing anything that benefits your child or you, it is because it benefits their client to be doing that. Period.)
2.2 Integrity
2.2-1 A lawyer has a duty to carry on the practice of law and discharge all responsibilities to clients, tribunals, the public and other members of the profession honourably and with integrity.
Commentary
[1] Integrity is the fundamental quality of any person who seeks to practise as a member of the legal profession. If clients have any doubt about their lawyers’ trustworthiness, the essential element in the true lawyer-client relationship will be missing. If integrity is lacking, the lawyer’s usefulness to the client and reputation within the profession will be destroyed, regardless of how competent the lawyer may be.
[2] Public confidence in the administration of justice and in the legal profession may be eroded by a lawyer’s irresponsible conduct. Accordingly, a lawyer’s conduct should reflect favourably on the legal profession, inspire the confidence, respect and trust of clients and of the community, and avoid even the appearance of impropriety.
[3] Dishonourable or questionable conduct on the part of a lawyer in either private life or professional practice will reflect adversely upon the integrity of the profession and the administration of justice. Whether within or outside the professional sphere, if the conduct is such that knowledge of it would be likely to impair a client’s trust in the lawyer, the Society may be justified in taking disciplinary action.
[4] Generally, however, the Society will not be concerned with the purely private or extra-professional activities of a lawyer that do not bring into question the lawyer’s professional integrity.
[[1] amended 10/2021]
Just be aware….
Keep your eyes open.
Everything they do or do not do is for the benefit of their client. If you want a settlement, it’s going to need to be a win-win for both parties, or they won’t take it. It’s a cost-risk analysis for them. If you want a hearing, then who cares, just keep going.
If they think you aren’t paying attention, they may think they can slip a needle in a haystack.
Be ready to file a complaint. It has the potential to benefit you, and it exposes the reality to the tribunal. Also, something VERY important. If we don’t speak up, it’s like our experience didn’t happen because “the system” no one else will know about it.