LEXPERT MAGAZINE
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MARCH 2019 3
LEXPERT.CA
Jean Cumming
Editor-in-Chief
What does that even mean?
From London to Washington to Ottawa, the relationship between law and politics
dominates the news. What legally happens if there is a "hard Brexit"? What can a
President do in a State of Emergency? For Canadians, under a previous government,
it was: what is Prorogation? One silver lining in all of this is that citizens, including
lawyers, are afforded opportunities to brush up on their civics and legal education.
Canadians more recently are asking a lot of questions about deferred prosecution
agreements, which we newly have and Americans and Britons have had for some time.
We can intuitively understand why corporations like DPAs: "they avoid the stig-
ma of a prosecution, save time and can limit the negative effects of a long investiga-
tion and prosecution." https://www.financierworldwide.com/deferred-prosecution-
agreements-in-the-uk-and-us#.XIuzGCJKiN0
But why do governments like them (beyond the debatable political theories)? To
answer this, it is useful to turn to the other jurisdictions that have them. Kathleen
Harris, Arnold & Porter LLP, offered this explanation in the above-noted article:
"In an era of global enforcement of economic crime, the introduction of Deferred
Prosecution Agreements (DPAs) follows developments in the UK designed to tackle
corporate offending.
"The rationale for a DPA in the UK is that corporate crime is firstly, difficult
to investigate and secondly, difficult and costly to prosecute. Companies that enter
into a DPA will have to fulfil certain undertakings, over a specified period of time,
in exchange for an agreement not to prosecute. If, at the end of a specified period, the
prosecutor is satisfied that the corporate has fulfilled its obligations, there will be no
prosecution. This approach is analogous to the US."
Query, what needs to happen in our political system in order for this legal con-
struct to operate effectively for all sides? If there is anything positive to come out of
the SNC-Lavalin situation, it may turn out that we all take an interest in the ways in
which our justice system operates.
fortuna favet fortibus
MARCH 2019
VOLUME 20 NO. 5
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Jean Cumming
SENIOR EDITOR
Elizabeth Raymer
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Gena Smith
ART DIRECTOR
Brianna Freitag
COVER PHOTO
John Hryniuk
DIRECTOR/GROUP PUBLISHER,
MEDIA SOLUTIONS, CANADA
Karen Lorimer
SALES MANAGER
Paul Burton
CONSULTANT, STRATEGY
AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
Ivan Ivanovitch
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
CONSULTANT
Kimberlee Pascoe
ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE
Steffanie Munroe
MARKETING & CIRCULATION
Mohammad Ali
PRODUCTION COORDINATOR
Joanne Richardson (416) 649-8818
joanne.richardson@tr.com
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EDITORIAL
