CODE OF PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT

Rule 221 (s. 6(8), Legal Profession Act)

All members shall conduct their practice in accordance with:

(a) the Yukon Code of Professional Conduct as amended from time to time; and
(b) the Code of Conduct adopted by the Canadian Bar Association, as amended from time to time, where it is not inconsistent with the Yukon Code of Professional Conduct.

YUKON CODE OF PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT

PART THREE

LAWYERS AND THE COURTS

1. A lawyer's conduct should at all times be characterized by candor and fairness. A lawyer should at all times maintain towards Judges a courteous and respectful attitude and insist on similar conduct by his or her client.

2. Judges, not being free to defend themselves, are entitled to receive the support of the Bar against unjust criticism and complaint. When there is proper ground for complaint against a judicial officer it is a right and duty of the lawyer to submit the complaint to the appropriate authorities.

   At all times lawyers must appropriately defend the independence of the Judiciary.

3. The lawyer should not offer evidence, which he or she knows the court should not admit. The lawyer should not either in arguments to the Court or in address to the jury, assert his or her personal belief in his/her client's innocence, or in the justice of his or her cause, or as to any of the facts involved in the matter under investigation.

4. The lawyer should never seek to privately influence directly or indirectly, the Judges of the Court in his or her favor, or in that of the client, nor should the lawyer attempt to curry favor with juries by fawning, flattery, or pretended solicitude for their personal comfort.

5. The lawyer should treat adverse witnesses, litigants, and counsel with fairness, refraining from all offensive personalities. The lawyer must avoid imparting to professional duties the client's feelings and prejudices. At the same time the lawyer should discharge his or her duty to the client with firmness and without fear of judicial disfavor or public unpopularity.

6. It is a lawyer's right to undertake the defense of any person accused of a crime regardless of his or her opinion as to the guilt of the accused. Having undertaken to defend, the lawyer is bound by all fair and honorable means to present every defense that the law permits.

7. A lawyer acting as counsel should not appear as a witness for his or her own client except as to mere formal matters such as to the attestation or custody of an instrument, or when it is essential to the ends of justice. If a lawyer is a necessary witness in a cause with respect to other matters, conduct of the case should be entrusted to other counsel.

8. No lawyer shall appear in Court in an intoxicated or drugged condition.

9. When a witness is under cross-examination, the lawyer who called the witness shall not converse with the witness about the case except with the permission of the opposing counsel.

10. A lawyer in Court shall at all times appear appropriately attired.

11. Except in exceptional circumstances no lawyer shall discuss a case privately with the trial judge unless opposing counsel is present.

12. When engaged as a prosecutor, the lawyer's primary duty is not to convict but to see that justice is done. To that end he or she should withhold no facts tending to prove either the guilt or innocence of the accused.

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