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regional wrap-up AtLAntic PUBLIC OBJECTS TO GOVERNMENT PAYING PREMIER'S BARRISTERS' FEES controversy was not over taxes, recession, or health care. The issue on everyone's mind was his law society fees. In the wake of a report on MLA N expenses prepared by the province's auditor general, it was revealed that the government had been paying the annual barristers' fee for Dexter even though he is not a practising lawyer. The premier has consistently maintained the payment is reasonable and ethical. A legal ethics expert agrees. "It is common practice and completely ethical for lawyers who are employed by organizations — whether those organ- izations are governments, corporations, or legal aid societies — to have their bar fees paid by their employers. This in no way affects the ethical responsibilities that lawyers owe," says Adam Dodek, a professor with the Faculty of Law at the University of Ottawa. However, he notes, the fallout is Nova Scotia Premier Darrell Dexter found himself in a furor over his legal fees. not good news for the legal profession. "Such scandals do not elevate the public image of politicians. When those politicians are also lawyers, there is likely to be blowback on the public image of lawyers as well." Controversy does have a way of mak- ova Scotia Premier Darrell Dexter recently found himself in the midst of a public furor. The ing one see a situation in a new light. After insisting the government should pay his fees, Dexter has done an about-face and announced publicly that going forward this money will come out of his own pocket. However, he said he would not reimburse the $10,642.67 the government paid in barristers' fees for him from 2006 to 2009. "I think these are legitimate business expenses that are covered in private business routinely, that they are a normal part of the course, but that doesn't really matter," Dexter told The Chronicle Herald. "What matters is that we're able to communicate effectively on a lot of issues that we need to talk about." Money, it appears, also matters. When the province was paying his fees, Dexter opted to retain his status as a practising member with the Nova Scotia Barristers' Society at an annual cost of $3,500. He's now registered as a non-practising member, which has a yearly price tag of only $250. — DONALEE MOULTON donalee@quantumcommunications.ca Waiving goodbye to privilege decision that may well ripple across the legal community. "I think that this decision is the W first time that a court has stated that a civil servant can waive privilege over legal advice received within his or her scope of authority," says Brian Awad, a partner with Burchells LLP in Halifax and counsel for the appellant. "It may also be the first time that an implied hat started out as a seemingly simple question has resulted in a Supreme Court of Nova Scotia waiver of privilege has been found to be effective to override a privilege claim in the context of a freedom of information request," he adds. In Peach v. Nova Scotia (Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal), the court looked at whether an opinion remains privileged despite the release of a summary of it. Specifically, the court had to determine whether the release was inadvertent as that word is understood in the context of waiver of privilege. And, if not, whether the official who prepared and released the summary had authority to waive the privilege. Most of the case law on waiver and inadvertence comes out of litigation, Justice Gerald Moir noted in his 16-page decision. "However," he added, "the ability to voluntarily waive privilege is so often necessary to good business and good government." In this case, Moir found that to summarize is to waive privilege. "To produce a summary of the opinion for a municipality, and apparently to www. C ANADIAN Law ye rmag.com M AY 2010 7