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NATL61_014,016 03/08/2007 09:23 AM Page 14 Managing the Law Department Managing the risk Setting up codes of conduct for corporate law departments. n-house counsel are not immune the broader public interest,” Ifrom scrutiny when it comes to pin- says Paton. ning the blame for corporate wrongdo- “Corporate counsel are in ing. What’s up in the air—what is the a particularly difficult spot. focus of ongoing battle in both Canada Codes of conduct for inside and the United States—is the degree to the legal department are a which they are responsible. It explains logical step to respond to why there is a growing interest in this outside concerns and provide post-Enron era in the unique role of guidance to lawyers inside.” professionals in corporate governance. In addition, corporate coun- Paul Paton, an assistant professor at sel “also send an important Queen’s University Faculty of Law in signal about the values of an Kingston, identifies growing interest in the organization while providing role of professionals in corporate governance. nuts-and-bolts advice and Attention has shifted to weighing the tools people can turn to involvement of lawyers, both in-house when in difficulty.” and outside, who bore responsibility for at Kari Horn, general counsel least their part in corporate scandals. And with the Alberta Securities while the fight has temporarily cooled as Commission (ASC) in regulators and legislators pause to consid- Calgary, says National Instrument 58-101 Electronic Document Analysis and er the massive changes already implement- requires disclosure of companies’corporate Retrieval). “There are a number of ways ed in corporate governance, “tensions governance practices. Although the rule companies can go about promoting ethical continue,even in Canada,around expecta- doesn’t require companies to have codes of conduct,” says Horn. “One of these is tions that lawyers will be responsible not conduct, it does require that any existing implementing a code. If having a code of only to their internal clients, but also to code be filed on SEDAR (System for ethics is seen as helpful for a particular Gérer le contentieux d’entreprise Gérer le risque Préparer un code de déontologie pour le département des services juridiques es conseillers juridiques d’entreprises ne sont plus à matière de gouvernance,et que l’heure est à la réflexion,question Ll’abri des reproches quand une compagnie est accusée d’évaluer leur efficacité. Mais les avocats-conseils, considérés de malversations. D’où l’intérêt généré par cette période redevables non seulement envers le client, mais également devant post-Enron quant au rôle particulier du professionnel en l’intérêt public, se trouvent néanmoins sous la loupe. matière de gouvernance. Développer un code de déontologie est un pas dans la bonne L’attention se porte d’ailleurs sur la participation des avocats direction, afin de répondre à ces préoccupations et pour envoy- qui doivent supporter une partie de la responsabilité des scan- er un signal important quant aux valeurs de l’organisation. Un dales financiers. code peut servir de guide à l’avocat ayant découvert une malver- VEER.COM Il est vrai que des changements majeurs ont été introduits en sation, de manière à ce qu’il s’acquitte bien de ses obligations. 14 CCCA Canadian Corporate Counsel Association MARCH 2007