Rule 6.1-1 indicates that a lawyer has complete professional responsibility for all business entrusted to him or her and must directly supervise staff and assistants to whom the lawyer delegates particular tasks and functions. The lawyer may permit a non-lawyer to act under their supervision as long as the lawyer maintains a direct relationship with the client. The burden rests on the lawyer to educate a non-lawyer concerning the duties assigned to the non-lawyer and to supervise the manner in which such duties are carried out. The work should be reviewed at sufficiently frequent intervals.
Rule 6.1-3 sets out a series of prohibited tasks given to a non-lawyer. For instance, a lawyer must not permit a non-lawyer to give legal advice, appear in court, actively participate in formal legal proceedings on behalf of a client, sign correspondence, or perform any of the duties that only lawyers may perform.
Rule 6.2-2 indicates that a supervising lawyer must provide the student with “meaningful training and exposure to and involvement in work that will provide the student with knowledge and experience of the practical aspects of the law, together with an appreciation of the traditions and ethics of the profession”.
Similar to other jurisdictions, lawyers must not directly or indirectly discriminate against a colleague, employee, client or any other person pursuant to rule 6.3-1, yet there is no regulation or prohibition with respect to the discrimination of lawyers by students. Similarly, Rule 6.3-2 prohibits a lawyer from harassing a colleague, employee, client, or other person. Rule 6.3-3 states that a lawyer must not sexually harass a colleague, employee, client or any other person. Again, these prohibitions do not exist in the act against students towards lawyers.
Law Society of Alberta, Code of Conduct (Alberta: Law Society of Alberta, 2023) rule 6.
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