What is the fiduciary duty of a solicitor?
British Columbia, Canada
The following excerpt is from Mcmurchie v. Boyle & Co., 1996 CanLII 1458 (BC SC):
The nature of a fiduciary duty is discussed in Frame v. Smith, (1987) 1987 CanLII 74 (SCC), 42 C.C.L.T. 1 (S.C.C.), though that case did not deal with a solicitor. The court said, at p. 32: Relationships in which a fiduciary obligation have been imposed seem to possess three general characteristics: (1) The fiduciary has scope for the exercise of some discretion or power. (2) The fiduciary can unilaterally exercise that power or discretion so as to affect the beneficiary's legal or practical interests. (3) The beneficiary is peculiarly vulnerable to or at the mercy of the fiduciary holding the discretion or power.
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