BEYOND CONFLICTS OF INTEREST TO THE DUTY OF LOYALTY: FROM MARTIN V. GRAY TO R. V. NEIL

Abstract

The recent Supreme Court of Canada decision in R. v. Neil represents a subtle, but significant, reorientation in the language of Canadian legal ethics. Rather than focusing on the negative “avoidance of conflicts of interest,” the duty of loyalty engenders a more positive regulative ideal. However, the authors argue that a number of recent lower court decisions and commentaries from observers manifest some ambivalence in embracing a duty of loyalty. There is particular concern about the compatibility of a vigorous duty of loyalty with the so-called "business model of the law firm".