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The article presents information on the problems related to the conflict of interest which has now become a leading issue in the legal profession of Canada. A focus is on the conceptual and political theories related to conflicts of interest and its divisions. The importance of the duty of loyalty owned by the lawyers towards their clients and the role of the Supreme Court of Canada in this issue are discussed. The self-regulation of legal profession in the Canadian jurisdiction and the tensions between self-regulation and judicial regulation in the area of conflict of interests are also focused.

The article presents information on the legal practice management and the incorporation of legal practices. A focus is on the ethical challenges and the conflicts of interest due to the incorporation of legal practices and conducts a review on the available statistical information on such law practices. The advantages of incorporation include limited liability for owners, increased access to capital funding and reduced tax paid on earnings. The different models for the incorporation of legal practice are discussed including full corporatisation, incorporation with majority lawyers control and with lawyer-only control.

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various reports within the issue on topics including duty of loyalty, conflicts of interest and ethical identity of the lawyers.