La définition de bureau d'avocat et de document dans le cadre d'une perquisition dans un bureau d'avocat

Festing v. Canada (Attorney General), 2003 BCCA 112 (CanLII)

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[24] In the result, we agree with counsel that the Lavallee guidelines should apply to searches of places which may not fall within the traditional concept of a law office. After considering a variety of wording suggested by counsel, we conclude that the words "law office" should be interpreted for the purpose of applying the Lavallee guidelines as including: "any place where privileged documents may reasonably be expected to be located". This definition would include, for example, a lawyer's home, a lawyer's office in multi-disciplinary business premises; the office of in-house counsel for a business, and storage facilities where lawyers store their files. The Court offers these examples as just that — examples of places where the Lavallee guidelines would apply. Counsel agree that there is little utility in attempting to define all such places since the practice of law, and the manner in which lawyers' store client information (for example, on computer hard drives and disks), continue to expand and diversify.

[25] Although counsel suggested that the protection of solicitor-client privilege should attach to "materials" and not simply "documents", we have concluded that the word "documents" is appropriate. "Documents" is the word used in the Lavallee guidelines. Further, the word "document" was given an expansive definition in s. 488.1(1) (as it then was) by reference to s. 321 of the Code which provides, in part:

"document" means any paper, parchment or other material on which is recorded or marked anything that is capable of being read or understood by a person, computer system or other device, and includes a credit card, but does not include trade marks on articles of commerce or inscriptions on stone or metal or other like material;

We would adopt that definition of "document" as applying in our expanded definition of the words "law office" for the purpose of applying the Lavallee guidelines