Comments on: The Honourable Profession of Law

By: David Cheifetz

David Cheifetz — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 23:51:22 +0000

Fortunately, most of us are never asked to advise on – or to justify – torture! But one is sometimes urged to think outside the box, and have to explain that the rule of law is not that kind of box.

But many of us are asked to advise on the legality of conduct which, if legal and if carried out, will probably, perhaps even certainly, cause non-actionable harm to another.

It’s a fine line.

By: John Gregory

John Gregory — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 23:18:43 +0000

Thanks for the reminder, Simon – not that most Slawyers would need it – that the solicitor side of the practice of law is where most of us toil, and the rule of law operates on that side too, and the need for honourable conduct. Ditto in government, where the pressures to tell the client what it wants to hear can be at least as great as in private practice, in part because most government lawyers are employees with just the one client.

Fortunately, most of us are never asked to advise on – or to justify – torture! But one is sometimes urged to think outside the box, and have to explain that the rule of law is not that kind of box.

By: Richard Mosley

Richard Mosley — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 18:05:24 +0000

Jane Mayer’s book, The Dark Side, offers a detailed account of the infighting among the Bush Administration lawyers over the torture memoranda. What I found particularly interesting was her portrayal of how a handful of determined individuals could overcome the weight of more principled and legally sound advice to the contrary.

I borrowed an electronic copy of the Mayer book from the Ottawa Public Library to read on my Sony PRS-505 while travelling. I don’t intend to upgrade to the touch screen version described on this site recently but am anxiously awaiting the release of the Plastic Logic device next year for work related applications.

Regards,

Justice Richard Mosley