After studying law at Oxford University as a Manitoba Rhodes Scholar, Philip Slayton clerked at the Supreme Court of Canada in Ottawa. Then, for thirteen years, he pursued an academic career, teaching at McGill University and becoming dean of law at the University of Western Ontario. Philip then went into legal practice with a major Canadian law firm in Toronto, and worked on many of the biggest corporate and commercial transactions of the time. He retired from the practice of law in 2000. Since leaving legal practice, Philip Slayton has written two best-selling books: Lawyers Gone Bad: Money, Sex and Madness in Canada’s Legal Profession, and Mighty Judgment: How the Supreme Court of Canada Runs Your Life. His last book, How To Be Good: The Struggle Between Law and Ethics, was published in 2017.
Do lawyers have an ethical obligation toward animals? Should they attempt to represent animals in legal actions against negligent, neglectful or cruel owners? Should they argue that nonhumans be given legal standing before the courts?
