Lawyer Perceptions of Codes of Legal Ethics |
Consent
Principle Investigator:
Isabelle MacLean
Master of Laws Candidate
Faculty of Law, University of Toronto
Toronto ON
i.maclean@mail.utoronto.ca
[phone number redacted for thesis submission]
Isabelle MacLean
Master of Laws Candidate
Faculty of Law, University of Toronto
Toronto ON
i.maclean@mail.utoronto.ca
[phone number redacted for thesis submission]
Sponsor:
Dr. Albert Yoon
Professor and Michael J Trebilcock
Chair in Law and Economics
Faculty of Law, University of Toronto
Toronto ON
albert.yoon@utoronto.ca
[phone number redacted for thesis submission]
I am inviting current practicing lawyers from all Canadian jurisdictions to aid in identifying the social norms applicable to Canadian legal ethics through this online survey. The online survey requires approximately 20 minutes of your time.
Intent of the research:
To identify the social norms applicable to legal ethics across Canada and compare the results to current Codes of Legal Ethics;
To identify commonalities and differences in lawyer perceptions of consequence severity based on linguistic phrasing;
To identify perceptions of provision importance;
To identify emotional responses to ethical infractions and ambiguities;
To aid in the reform of Codes of Legal Ethics through feedback and response analysis; and
To provide an empirical analysis of whether lawyers are likely to be sanctioned without being morally blameworthy.
Conditions for participation:
Your participation in this online survey is completely voluntary and anonymous.
You may decline to answer any question without negative consequence.
You may withdraw midway through the survey without having your responses recorded by clicking the “exit” button. There is no negative consequence upon withdrawal.
Because the survey is anonymous, once your survey has been submitted, you will not be able to withdraw your responses.
By participating, you are not waiving your legal rights in the event of harm.
Associated risks & benefits:
The risks associated with participation are low.
Potential benefits may include the eventual reform of Codes of Legal Ethics to more accurately take into account social norms. This, however, also depends on external factors. There is a potential that no benefits arise from participation.
You may experience emotional distress while reading the proposed ethical breaches under existing Codes of Legal Ethics. If you require immediate help, please contact your local emergency department.
The survey is hosted through SurveyMonkey. Their privacy policy can be found here:https://www.surveymonkey.com/mp/legal/privacy/.
How the information will be used:
All responses to the survey are anonymous.
The data stemming from this survey will be accessible by the Principle Investigator and the Sponsor.
The research ethics program may have access to the data to ensure that participant protection procedures are being followed.
A summary of the results will be accessible by the University of Toronto Faculty of Law and the School of Graduate Studies.
Publication of results and presentations regarding the results of the survey are intended. This includes academic articles and academic conferences.
A summary of the results will be shared with the Federation of Law Societies of Canada. If appropriate, a summary of results from Indigenous participants will be shared with the Indigenous Bar Association.
All data will be stored on a secure University of Toronto server for a minimum of 5 years.
One copy of the survey will be password encrypted and stored by the Principle Investigator.
All data will be destroyed after 10 years.
Contact information:
If you need to contact the Principle Investigator or the Sponsor, use the contact information at the top of this page.
If you have questions about your rights as participants, contact the Research Oversight and Compliance Office – Human Research Eth
Dr. Albert Yoon
Professor and Michael J Trebilcock
Chair in Law and Economics
Faculty of Law, University of Toronto
Toronto ON
albert.yoon@utoronto.ca
[phone number redacted for thesis submission]
I am inviting current practicing lawyers from all Canadian jurisdictions to aid in identifying the social norms applicable to Canadian legal ethics through this online survey. The online survey requires approximately 20 minutes of your time.
Intent of the research:
To identify the social norms applicable to legal ethics across Canada and compare the results to current Codes of Legal Ethics;
To identify commonalities and differences in lawyer perceptions of consequence severity based on linguistic phrasing;
To identify perceptions of provision importance;
To identify emotional responses to ethical infractions and ambiguities;
To aid in the reform of Codes of Legal Ethics through feedback and response analysis; and
To provide an empirical analysis of whether lawyers are likely to be sanctioned without being morally blameworthy.
Conditions for participation:
Your participation in this online survey is completely voluntary and anonymous.
You may decline to answer any question without negative consequence.
You may withdraw midway through the survey without having your responses recorded by clicking the “exit” button. There is no negative consequence upon withdrawal.
Because the survey is anonymous, once your survey has been submitted, you will not be able to withdraw your responses.
By participating, you are not waiving your legal rights in the event of harm.
Associated risks & benefits:
The risks associated with participation are low.
Potential benefits may include the eventual reform of Codes of Legal Ethics to more accurately take into account social norms. This, however, also depends on external factors. There is a potential that no benefits arise from participation.
You may experience emotional distress while reading the proposed ethical breaches under existing Codes of Legal Ethics. If you require immediate help, please contact your local emergency department.
The survey is hosted through SurveyMonkey. Their privacy policy can be found here:https://www.surveymonkey.com/mp/legal/privacy/.
How the information will be used:
All responses to the survey are anonymous.
The data stemming from this survey will be accessible by the Principle Investigator and the Sponsor.
The research ethics program may have access to the data to ensure that participant protection procedures are being followed.
A summary of the results will be accessible by the University of Toronto Faculty of Law and the School of Graduate Studies.
Publication of results and presentations regarding the results of the survey are intended. This includes academic articles and academic conferences.
A summary of the results will be shared with the Federation of Law Societies of Canada. If appropriate, a summary of results from Indigenous participants will be shared with the Indigenous Bar Association.
All data will be stored on a secure University of Toronto server for a minimum of 5 years.
One copy of the survey will be password encrypted and stored by the Principle Investigator.
All data will be destroyed after 10 years.
Contact information:
If you need to contact the Principle Investigator or the Sponsor, use the contact information at the top of this page.
If you have questions about your rights as participants, contact the Research Oversight and Compliance Office – Human Research Eth