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NATL61_014,016 03/08/2007 09:27 AM Page 16 Managing the Law Department company, then that is a useful tool.What’s piece of advice is privileged, which may employees, compliance with laws, and the not useful is implementing a code just for not always be the case. Distinguishing reporting of unethical and illegal behav- the sake of saying you have one.” between legal and business advice is criti- iour.” Still, codes can provide guidance on cally important.” Horn points out that companies can Horn refers to National find different, perhaps more effective Policy 58-201, which sets ways to address these matters absent a “ Distinguishing between out a number of non-bind- code of conduct. “From our perspective,” she says,“com- ing guidelines to consider when developing corporate legal and business advice what policies and processes will be most governance practices,includ- panies are in the best position to assess is critically important. ing a business code of con- effective in the promotion of ethical con- ” duct and ethics.“The policy duct,given their size,complexity of opera- tions, and so on. One overarching theme suggests matters that a code should address,” says Horn. companies participating in the Alberta cap- reporting obligations, should a lawyer run “These include the board of directors’ han- behind the policy is that the ASC expects into corporate wrongdoing, says Paton. dling of conflicts of interest, the protection ital market to act in an ethical manner. We They can answer questions about process, and proper use of corporate assets, confi- encourage efforts that reinforce a culture of privilege and confidentiality. “It is often dentiality of corporate information, fair ethical business conduct, which may well assumed for in-house counsel that every dealing with shareholders, customers and include the adoption of a code of conduct. “What is key is that companies provide meaningful disclosure as to their cor- porate governance practices so that CONSULTING investors are able to make informed decisions,” she concludes. TO LAW Michelle Mann DEPARTMENTS Positioning & Strategy Puis faire la distinction entre un conseil juridique et un conseil d’affaires n’est pas toujours clair. Organization of the Tous les conseils ne sont pas nécessairement couverts par le Department secret professionnel. À titre d’exemple de lignes directrices, on peut s’inspirer de Workflow and Workload l’Instruction générale 58-201 relative à la gouvernance. Ces meilleures pratiques portent notamment sur la gestion des con- Performance Management flits d’intérêts,la protection des actifs de la compagnie,la confi- dentialité des informations corporatives, les relations avec les Managing Total actionnaires,les clients et les employés,et la conformité aux lois. Legal Spend Telephone Quoi qu’il en soit, c’est à la compagnie de déterminer com- ment assurer le comportement éthique de ses membres. (416) 367-4447 Retreats & Surveys (514) 914-3043 L’important est de divulguer ses pratiques de gouvernance afin que les investisseurs puissent faire des choix éclairés. Et encore faut-il que le code soit respecté, sans quoi il ne sert à rien. Website –Yves Faguy 16 CCCA Canadian Corporate Counsel Association MARCH 2007