NCA Professional Responsibility and Legal Ethics 3

Question 1

The duty of competence in legal professional rules requires a lawyer to:

Accepted Answer

Have and apply the legal knowledge, skills, and attributes appropriate to the retainer, or acknowledge the limits of competence and obtain assistance or refer the matter

Answer

Competence requires the application of relevant knowledge, skills, and care—not perfection or expertise in every area. A lawyer who lacks competence in a particular area must either develop it, associate with a competent lawyer, or refer the matter to one. Accepting a retainer beyond one's competence without remedy is professional misconduct.

Question 2

The SCC in Groia v. Law Society of Upper Canada [2018] addressed the tension between which two professional duties?

Accepted Answer

The duty to act with civility and courtesy vs. the duty of zealous advocacy on behalf of the client

Answer

In Groia v. LSUC [2018], the SCC addressed whether a lawyer's incivility in court proceedings (making allegations of prosecutorial misconduct without adequate basis) could constitute professional misconduct. The Court held that while civility is important, the duty of zealous advocacy must be given significant weight in disciplinary proceedings.

Question 3

The Federation of Law Societies of Canada's Model Code of Professional Conduct serves what function in Canada?

Accepted Answer

It provides a harmonized model that provincial law societies may adopt, facilitating consistent professional standards and national mobility of lawyers

Answer

The Federation of Law Societies' Model Code is a model framework developed to harmonize professional conduct rules across provinces and facilitate national mobility under the National Mobility Agreement. Each provincial law society retains its own regulatory authority and adopts the model (with modifications) as its own rules.

Question 4

In Canada, solicitor-client privilege belongs to which party and can be waived by whom?

Accepted Answer

The privilege belongs to the client, and only the client (or their authorized representative) can waive it

Answer

Solicitor-client privilege belongs to the client. The lawyer has a professional obligation to assert and protect the privilege on behalf of the client and cannot waive it unilaterally. Only the client can waive the privilege, expressly or impliedly (e.g., by putting the legal advice in issue).

Question 5

Under Canadian professional conduct rules, a lawyer who discovers that their client has committed perjury during the proceeding must:

Accepted Answer

Take steps to rectify the situation, which may include advising the client to correct the testimony, and if the client refuses, the lawyer may have to withdraw and potentially take other remedial steps

Answer

When a lawyer discovers client perjury, the obligations under the rules require the lawyer to: (1) attempt to persuade the client to correct the false testimony; (2) if the client refuses, consider withdrawal; (3) the lawyer must not continue to actively assist in the perjury or mislead the court. Reporting to the court directly is generally not required absent specific rules.

NCA Exam Practice Test

NCA Exam Practice Test

NCA Professional Responsibility and Legal Ethics 3