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🎙️ Behind the Case Files - Episode 1 | Can We Act? Understanding Conflict Checks
Why does a law office complete a conflict check before opening a file? And what does client intake have to do with it? Before a lawyer can answer a prospective client's question — "Can you help me?" — the office first has to answer its own:
Can we act?
In this first episode of Sister-in-Law: The Paralegal Journey – Behind the Case Files, Tara Edwards takes you inside the practical side of conflict checks, client intake, and professional responsibility.
This episode is designed for legal assistants, paralegals and students who want to understand not just what we do, but why we do it.
📂 Inside this episode
We'll take a practical look at:
🔹 Why conflict checks are more than an administrative task
🔹 Why a thorough client intake is the foundation of an effective conflict check
🔹 Why previous, maiden, or former names matter
🔹 Why identifying the correct legal entity matters when the client is a corporation
🔹 Why opposing parties, related individuals, and related companies may need to be identified
🔹 What happens when a potential conflict appears in the firm's system
🔹 What the legal assistant or paralegal's role is when a potential conflict is identified
🔹 Why the lawyer—not the legal support professional—makes the professional decision about whether the firm can act
🔹 Why conflict management doesn't necessarily end when the file is opened
🔹 What Canadian professional rules, case law, and disciplinary decisions can teach us about conflicts of interest
We also look at conflict checks through a Canadian professional lens. The episode begins with an Alberta perspective, including the Law Society of Alberta and its approach to conflict management, before looking at the Federation of Law Societies of Canada's Model Code of Professional Conduct.
We'll also discuss:
📚 MacDonald Estate v. Martin
📚 R. v. Neil
📚 Canadian National Railway Co. v. McKercher LLP
and professional disciplinary decisions from British Columbia and Saskatchewan.
The goal is to understand what these authorities tell us about the practical importance of identifying and managing conflicts.
📝 Free Educational Workbook
I've also created a Behind the Case Files Educational Workbook to accompany this episode.
Inside you'll find:
📋 A Sample Client Intake Form
📋 A Sample Conflict Check Worksheet
✅ Conflict Check Best Practices
💼 A Practical Scenario
💭 Reflection Questions
📌 Key Learning Points
📚 Canadian Resources & Further Reading
The workbook is designed as an educational resource and is not intended to replace your firm's policies, procedures, or forms.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cvjXfHp9iG3rGQJQ8EoT4bL1NXFVijWP/view?usp=sharing
Who is this episode for?
Whether you're a:
🎓 Legal assistant or paralegal student
📁 Legal assistant working in an Alberta law office
⚖️ Alberta paralegal
🏢 Legal support professional
📚 Canadian law clerk or legal professional
⚖️ Ontario licensed paralegal
or you're simply interested in understanding what happens behind the case files, this episode is designed to give you practical information you can take back to your work.
💡 The Question We're Answering
Before a lawyer can answer:
"Can you help me?"
the office first needs to answer:
"Can we act?"
That's what this episode is really about.
Because knowing what to do builds competence. Understanding why we do it builds confidence.
About Sister-in-Law: The Paralegal Journey
Sister-in-Law: The Paralegal Journey is a Canadian podcast hosted by Tara Edwards, an Alberta Registered Paralegal. Each episode features conversations with legal assistants, paralegals, lawyers, educators, and industry leaders from across Canada who share practical advice, career insights, and real-world experiences.
Whether you work in law, work alongside the legal profession, are thinking about a career in this space, or simply want an honest look at the paralegal journey, you're in the right place. Because every experienced paralegal was once the person asking their first question. Here, we're all about learning, growing, and supporting one another along the way. So, welcome to the conversation.
⭐ Follow the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
💼 Connect with Tara on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/tara-edwards-vandenberg-arp-78607033
