What is the test for disqualifying a lawyer from acting?
British Columbia, Canada
The following excerpt is from Mcleod (Re), 2020 LSBC 33 (CanLII):
The Respondent also proceeded with the recusal application. In the seminal case of MacDonald Estate v. Martin, 1990 CanLII 32 (SCC), [1990] 3 SCR 1235 at 1260, the majority decision establishes that the test for considering whether a lawyer should be disqualified from acting has two parts: … (1) Did the lawyer receive confidential information attributable to a solicitor and client relationship relevant to the matter at hand? (2) Is there a risk that it will be used to the prejudice of the client? … once it is shown by the client that there existed a previous relationship which is sufficiently related to the retainer from which it is sought to remove the solicitor, the court should infer that confidential information was imparted unless the solicitor satisfies the court that no information was imparted which could be relevant. …
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