Gatekeepers - The Lawyer Enigma

• Author: Peter M. German, KC
• Profession: PhD, Barrister and Solicitor of the British Columbia and Ontario Bars
• Pages: 227-250

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Gatekeepers — e Lawyer Enigma

PETER M. GERMAN, KC*

A. THE PROFESSION OF LAW

e quintessential Englishman of the eighteenth century would have little

diculty dening a professional to be a learned person in the elds of

divinity, law, or medicine, who practices his skills in churches, oces, or

hospitals. Over time, this raried collective grew to include a few other

occupations, but only a few. All of that has changed, however. It can now

be argued that society no longer draws a distinction between the “trad-

itional” professions and all other trades and occupations, be they house

cleaners, retail salespersons, reghters, or machinists. We glibly assert

that any person can be viewed as a professional if they approach work

with pride, expertise, and care.

But is this really the case? Is this nuanced approach not simply a sop to

our liberal and egalitarian perspective on life in the new millennium? Is it

not true that the traditional professions have, in fact, retained their elevated

status in society, despite admitting new members to the club? Arguably

this is precisely what has occurred, and the law itself has facilitated this

evolution. We now refer to the club members as “self-regulated profes-

sions,” occupations that have been granted a status not accorded to others.

* PhD, Barrister and Solicitor of the British Columbia and Ontario Bars, President

of the International Centre for Criminal Law Reform, Vancouver, BC.

 . , 

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As we shall see in the pages that follow, this is extremely relevant to our

discussion of organized crime, money laundering, and the role of lawyers.

In this chapter, we examine the pivotal role played by lawyers and

others with “lawyer-like” authority who control entry, not only to their

profession, but who also serve as gatekeepers, or keepers of the keys

to modern commerce and the global ow of money. It is a privileged

and oftentimes lucrative role, but one that can be burdened by onerous

responsibility and is susceptible to numerous external threats. We examine

the role of the legal profession in the context of transnational organized

crime by considering rst, the risks that lawyers face in their daily work,

then, how organized crime seeks to leverage lawyers to its benet, and

nally, what Parliament, the bureaucracy of government, and lawyers are

doing or not doing to deal with the issue. A brief look at comparative

developments will drive a conclusion that Canada will need to look more

closely at the regulation of lawyers in this arena than it has done to date.

B. MONEY LAUNDERING

ere was a time, not too many decades ago, and certainly within the

memory of many legal practitioners, when laundering was simply viewed

as the process of washing and starching the wing-tipped collars of bar-

risters’ shirts. Today, those shirts still require a good clean and press, but

the descriptor has now found its own place in Canada’s Criminal Code.

Because most crime is committed for nancial gain, obvious excep-

tions being sexual and public order oences, those who steal or plunder

require that their illicit proceeds be laundered to a level of sophistication

which varies from basic to complex, and from local to international, but

always involves the well-known stages of placement, layering, and integra-

tion. Skilled practitioners wash, spin, and dry this money until its origin

is obfuscated and the forensic paper trail is suciently complex that law

enforcement either cannot unravel it, or has not the time, resources, or

inclination to do so. Often referred to as the “back oce” of organized

crime, laundering is a serious oence.

 Criminal Code, RSC , c C-, s . [Code].

 Peter German, Pr oceeds of Crime and Money Laundering (Toronto: omson Reuters

Canada, ) s ..