Is a lawyer who is not a lawyer able to function in a non-legal capacity to provide solicitor-client advice?
Alberta, Canada
The following excerpt is from Klemke Mining v. Shell Canada, 2002 ABQB 1131 (CanLII):
Once trained as a lawyer, one can still function in a non-legal capacity: A lawyer who is an eyewitness to a vehicle collision involving a client or even two clients is not in that regard using solicitor-client eyes and ears. A lawyer who acts as a form of business representative is not necessarily in the capacity of providing solicitor-client advice under circumstances of reasonably apprehended confidence either: Flynn v. Luscar Ltd., [2002] A.J. No. 1084, 2002 ABQB 799 at para [64]. In Flynn, Watson, J. ultimately upheld the Master’s order directing the defendant appellant’s solicitor to submit to examination for discovery.
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