What is the duty of a lawyer to warn a client about potential risks?

It is the lawyer’s duty to warn the client about potential risks. The court must assess the lawyer’s conduct against the reasonable expectations of the client. However, in making a finding of liability, the court must still consider whether a reasonably prudent solicitor would have relayed the warning in the circumstances, as the duty to warn cannot be without limits. In Piccolo v. Muroff, [2002] O.J. No. 2369 (Ont. Sup. Ct.), Abbey J. wrote, at paragraph 25: “The foundation for solicitor’s negligence cannot be the failure to advise the plaintiffs in respect to steps or options which were not, in any event, practical with a view to resolving the impediment….”