“You don’t get to complain when the smoke of a fire is blown back into your face, when you’re the one that blew on the coals in the first place”
– Borrowed wisdom from a good friend of mine
Welcome to Andrei’s Angle, where the cause stays actionable. My name is Andrei Uzumtoma and I’m the summer student at The Law Firm of Ted Yoannou. Every week, I post a new article discussing contemporary legal topics and compelling stories from the field that stay with me. Let’s chat about ethics on this one.
One of our clients, Mel, recently found herself in a sticky situation, and rather than fessing up, she concocted a lie and fabricated evidence. For the purpose of this article, the client’s name will be anonymized, as will the facts of her story to protect her identity. Mel was essentially going to have one of our lawyers unknowingly mislead the court. Luckily, Mel’s falsehoods were uncovered by our team and quickly dealt with before matters could be made worse.
Our clients are at a perilous juncture in their lives; the criminal justice system is daunting, and their emotions are understandably volatile. Though I disagree with Mel’s actions, I can sympathize with her urge to buy time and delay the inevitable. When people are faced with choosing between a rock and a hard place, they will do everything in their power to barricade their freedom. However, our client got sneaky, and not only did it almost cost us, but it almost cost them.
In Mel’s case, we realized that we could not serve our ethical duty to both her and the court, and unfortunately, had to be ‘taken off the record’. A ‘removal from the record’ refers to a lawyer officially ending their representation of a client in a court proceeding.
Despite my empathy for the predicament she found herself in, Mel’s blame-shifting and unruly behaviour after the fact, demonstrated her lack of accountability. When you’re complicit in the creation of chaos, you don’t get to play the victim and complain about the situation you’ve landed yourself in.
Ultimately, lawyers are bound by strict codes of conduct. By parting ways with the client, I watched our lawyers steadfastly place ethics above their pride, their paycheque, and their licence. It was a lesson in upholding the standards we bear, and one I’ll carry into every courtroom I ever walk into.
Andrei’s Angle adjourned.
These articles are provided for general information purposes only and are not intended as legal advice.