Self-Interest, Public Interest, and the Interests of the Absent Client: Legal ethics and Class Action Praxis

Are existing ethical norms adequate to address the realities of class proceedings? In this article, the author explores the premise that current rules of professional conduct are effective when applied to class action praxis. In Part I, she discusses the peculiar features of class proceedings and how they create unique challenges to the ethical conduct of litigation. In Part II, the author confronts a fundamental (and often overlooked) question: Who is the client in a class proceeding to whom ethical duties are owed? Having identified the range of judicial and academic views on the unique dimensions of class actions, she turns, in Part III, to a discussion of two sources of ethical norms that seek to respond to them: the strictures of class proceedings legislation and the judicial development of rules and guidelines. Throughout the article, the author relies upon information obtained from seven judges interviewed for this project. The article concludes with proposals for amendment to Ontario\u27s Rules of Professional Conduct that would more accurately address the realities of this model of litigation