Canadian Lawyer

w w w . c a n a d i a n l a w y e r m a g . c o m S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 8 17 grizzled Toronto litigator seemed surprised I'd even ask about this. "Of course, the lawyer should do what his client tells him," he said, "provided perjury is not involved. If the lawyer doesn't want to do what the client tells him, he should fire the client." But is it really that clearcut? If you're in trouble and badly need legal help and seek that help, isn't it implicit that you are giving up some of your decision- making autonomy and handing it over to your lawyer? How much sense does it make to go to a lawyer — or a doctor or any professional — and then ignore their advice? If you're a lawyer and believe that you know the best course of action for your client, should you follow their contrary wishes if they are self-destructive and based on ignorance and — in your view — will lead to disaster? English, McCoy's lawyer, is quoted by The New York Times as saying, "When you're in a courtroom fighting for someone's life, you bring every skill and trick of the trade to save that person's life." A lawyer friend of English commented, "Larry kept saying to me that he didn't want this boy to die on his watch. He felt the jury had death in their eyes." Later, when he was no longer practising law, English said, "The greatest thing I ever did as a lawyer, and the most important thing I ever did as a lawyer, was to take Robert McCoy's case." Does a lawyer have responsibilities even greater than his responsibility to his client — responsibilities to principle and to the justice system? English certainly thought so. He told The New York Times, "The criminal justice system in this country is so racked by racism and classism that there is no way the death penalty can be imple- mented in a way that's constitutional. Being a criminal lawyer in the American justice system is like doing triage for black men. By the time they get to you, you're dealing with the effects of absent fathers and pov- erty. They are 19 years old and about to go to jail for 20 years. All these lives are com- ing in, and you are doing everything you can to save them. It was my way of fighting the system." Is a lawyer just an assistant? I don't think so. Lawyers have responsibilities other than slavishly following instruc- tions. They have a responsibility to pur- sue their client's best interests as they see them. And they have a responsibility to seek justice. A collection of these columns, How To Be Good: The Struggle Between Law & Eth- ics, was published in 2017. "If you're in trouble and badly need legal help and seek that help, isn't it implicit that you are giving up some of your decision- making autonomy and handing it over to your lawyer?" Master the law. Canada's leading law school offers a graduate degree in four unique streams: Business Law Canadian Law in a Global Context Innovation, Law and Technology Law of Leadership Apply today. Visit gpllm.law.utoronto.ca Questions? gpllm@utoronto.ca ntitled-6 1 2018-05-25 11:45 AM

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