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CCCA_V2No4_ConflictMgmt-FIN.qxd:CCCA_V1No1_DriversSeat-FIN.qxd 11/24/08 2:51 PM Page 30 Feature written understanding with their clients on a number of important aspects of the relationship.That includes practical matters such as who the client is, when the work done for another is considered to be a conflict, and when the rela- tionship ends. Reaction to the recommendations The report’s authors say the response to its recommenda- tions from within the profession has been extremely posi- tive. As a client, Currie is very supportive of the clarity the task force has provided about conflicts rules, noting:“With clarity comes speed.”There’s often little time for a conflict to be cleared. “You tend not to phone outside counsel casually; you phone them when you need them.And therefore, if there’s a conflict, it’s not always easy for them to clear it quickly, because sometimes the facts are complex.”Other times,“they have to sort of go back over the law and try and divine what the right answer is.” Currie thinks the task force’s strong encouragement of the use of retainer letters is a good thing. “The practice today is remarkably uneven as between even the law firms that we have historically used.” His company has signed master retainer letters with all of its principal legal service providers across the country and in the United States. “There’s no push-back from the law firms,” says Currie. “They like them as well.” The use of retainer letters manages three things: expectations, how conflicts will be dealt with, and financial arrangements. “That’s an important per- spective from a client,” says Currie. “You know what you’re getting and you know what you’re going to be charged for it” Murray Aust, senior counsel at the Royal Bank of Canada,finds the task force report thorough and logical and calls the argu- ments behind the recommendations “extremely persuasive.”As for the recom- mendation on the use of retainers, “that ties in nicely with our approach,because we believe they are central to our relationships with counsel,” he says. The client’s interest The report recommends that the CBA Code of Professional Conduct be amended to provide that a lawyer may act in a matter that is adverse to the cur- Scott Jolliffe rent client’s interests, as long as the matter is unrelat- Chair and CEO ed to matters in which the lawyer is acting for the MARK STEGEL Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP, Toronto current client and no conflicting interest is present. 30 CCCA Canadian Corporate Counsel Association WINTER 2008