Codes of conduct for law departments?

Paul Paton, an assistant professor at Queen’s University Faculty of Law in Kingston, writes in CCCA Mag., Vol. 1, March 2007, at 14, about corporate governance scandals and what to do to address them. He foresees that law departments will be called upon increasingly to act properly. Accordingly, “Codes of conduct for inside legal department are a logical step to respond to outside concerns and provide guidance to lawyers inside.”

I have never heard of guidelines for inside lawyers as to their own ethical behavior, but who could argue that they too don’t need reminders, education, and pointers? Certainly, if you expect your law department to be the beacon of rectitude (See my post of May 6, 2005.) you might go down the road of promulgated guidelines.