March 12, 2024 – Counsel’s Obligation re: Client’s Disclosure Obligations

“Counsel in any case must be mindful of the obligations that the Law Society of Ontario’s Rules of Professional Conduct impose on them with regard to their client’s disclosure obligations.  Those rules outline specific steps that counsel must take in advising clients on matters of disclosure.  Rule 5.1-3 states that where the rules of a tribunal require the parties to produce documents or attend on examinations for discovery, a lawyer, when acting as an advocate, must advise his/her client to comply with their disclosure obligations, and must not make frivolous requests or demands for information or the production of documents.”

            McDowell v. McDowell, 2021 ONSC 1954 (CanLII) at 15