| R v Neil | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Hearing: January 25, 2002 Judgment: November 1, 2002 | |
| Full case name | David Lloyd Neil v Her Majesty The Queen |
| Citations | [2002] 3 S.C.R. 631, 2002 SCC 70 |
| Docket No. | 28282 [1] |
| Ruling | Appeal dismissed |
| Court membership | |
| Reasons given | |
| Unanimous reasons by | Binnie J. |
R v Neil, [2002] 3 S.C.R. 631, 2002 SCC 70, is a leading decision of the Supreme Court of Canada on conflict of interests among lawyers. The Court held that both firms and lawyers have a fiduciary duty of loyalty to their clients and so a lawyer or firm cannot represent a client whose interests may be adverse to the interests of another client unless there is consent and a reasonable belief that the interests will not be adverse. This greatly expanded the old rules of conflict of interest which required actual knowledge of confidential information before a lawyer was in conflict.
- ^ SCC Case Information - Docket 28282 Supreme Court of Canada