Client and
Firm Confidences
Nothing is more sacred to the legal
profession than the confidential relationship between lawyer and client. This
goes far beyond what is required by the rules of professional conduct. Your
personal rule should be very simple — do not talk about the firm’s business,
its clients, their problems or anything related to them outside the four walls
of the firm. With anyone. At any time. It is that simple.
The
greatest risks are casual social comments. Somewhere in the middle of a case of
Heineken you pass along information about something of great sensitivity to a
firm client.
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Why This Helicopter
Will Crash.......
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Much has been written
about “helicopter parents” who hover over their children becoming too
involved in school and the work place. I’ll leave the diagnosis to the
experts. But I was rendered speechless when I heard about a summer associate
who routinely showed his memoranda to his attorney father - who practiced at
another firm because “I always showed my homework to my Dad.” Did this student have no
understanding of confidentiality, privilege, and work product?
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Equally
risky are comments in restaurants, public places or cocktail parties that
directly or indirectly reveal the business of the firm or its clients. The
group at the next table may include three employees of the client, their banker
or accountant, a competitor, or associates working for someone about to make a
competing offer to buy your client. Trust me.
They
are there — perhaps not as nattily attired and lacking the Bombay Sapphire
martini — but there nevertheless. It is not just legal advice or technically
privileged information. It is anything about the client and their business. You
risk immediate termination if you violate this rule.
Gossiping
about firm politics, attorneys, finances, or other subjects is equally foolish.
While it violates no disciplinary rule, you can be assured that the managing
partners do not want the firm’s business discussed at Liquid, Club X, or Martini Madness. I would be equally cautious about
posting commentary on the internet about your summer employer, no matter how
carefully you believe you have disguised your identity.
Do
not copy, remove, download, or distribute written work product without the
clear permission of the hiring partner and the partner for whom
the work was done. While firm policies vary, most do not want their work
product distributed outside the law firm, for any reason at any time. It really
does not matter if you change all the client names.
The firm’s confidential work product
includes memoranda you write during the summer form files of pleadings
and transactional documents —whether or not publicly filed brochures and marketing
proposals and any and all information maintained on the firm’s network or
databases (including, of course, lists of clients, contacts, or potential
clients). jeopardizes your career.
When
you apply to the bar all previous employers must sign affidavits about your
character and fitness. Your admission to the bar can be delayed or precluded if
an employer reports that you do not treat confidential information with care.
Driving the big rigs can be fun but your Mom does not expect your telephone
number to be 1-800-18-WHEELS.
This is the 7th installment by Frank Kimball for law students. Click on the author's name to view all of his previous posts.