19-01 – Attorney for an estate executor is required to notify the Probate Court that funds listed on a final accounting filed by the attorney and referenced as being held by the attorney’s client, the executor, are unaccounted for.
14-04 Prosecutors have a responsibility to take reasonable steps to prevent law enforcement personnel from making extrajudicial disclosures that the prosecutor would be barred from making directly.
99-04 An attorney who has had communications with a party to a divorce which might be of significant use or materiality in the representation of such party, and who has rendered counsel or advice in response to such communications, has an obligation to maintain confidentiality as to such information and advice even if he is not retained to represent such party. In the event he should subsequently discover that the opposing party to the matter is represented by another attorney in the firm with which he practices, he should make the fact of his contact (but not the substance of it) known to the relevant attorneys in his firm. His firm may continue to represent B provided the attorney does not disclose any information obtained from, or advice given to, A to others in the firm, and further provided that both A and B consent to the firm’s continued representation of B after the facts (including the prophylactic measures being undertaken to preserve any confidential information obtained from A) are disclosed to both clients.
99-02In the context of a plea agreement in a criminal case, a defense attorney should not advise a client to sign a written Waiver of Rights drafted by the prosecution without first fully informing the client of the legal consequences of the Waiver, and that by signing it, the client could also be considered to have waived the right to keep confidential the nature and substance of communications that had taken place between the lawyer and client in deciding whether to enter a plea and could be used against the client in any subsequent dispute over whether the lawyer fully discharged his or her professional duty to the client. Further, the attorney should not sign an Attorney’s Certificate as part of a written plea agreement which has the effect of disclosing the nature, substance and extent of confidential attorney-client communications; which will be used as evidence of the knowing and voluntary nature of the plea; and which may have the effect of limiting the client’s remedies against the attorney in any subsequent dispute concerning the client’s rights involved in the plea agreement.
98-07 (1.) A lawyer retained by an insurance company to represent a policy holder may not provide billings containing confidential information to an outside auditor employed by the insurance company without the client’s informed consent, given after full disclosure as to the type of information which may be found in billing records. (2.) A lawyer may not comply with insurance company “billing guidelines” without a full explanation of them to the client (insured) and only upon obtaining client’s full and informed consent. Furnishing detailed information required by the guidelines directly to the insurance company with the knowledge that the billings will be forwarded to an outside auditing firm, would similarly require full and informed consent from the insured client.
97-12 An attorney may not represent a criminal defendant where one theory of defense involves implicating a person who was previously represented by the same attorney in defense against a charge brought by the same victim.
97-09 Law Firm A may employ a paralegal who formerly was employed by Law Firm B, despite the fact that the two firms are engaged in litigation against each other in a matter in which the paralegal participated for Law Firm B. However, Law Firm A must now screen the paralegal from involvement in the pending litigation and any matter in which the interests of Law Firm B’s client is adverse to any client of Law Firm A. Further, Law Firm A must ensure that no information relating to the representation of the client of Law Firm B is revealed by the paralegal to any person in Law Firm A.
97-08 A lawyer must exercise discretion in determining the necessary length of time for the subsequent retention or disposition of a client’s file. The contents of certain files may indicate the need for a longer retention period than do the contents of files of similar age based on their relevance and materiality to situations which may foreseeably arise. Moreover, in disposing of a client’s files, a lawyer should protect the confidentiality of its contents. If possible, notice may be given the client as to the date of disposition, affording the client the opportunity to take possession of all or part of the material in the file.
97-05A lawyer does not violate DR 4-l0l by communicating with a client by e-mail, including the Internet, without encryption.
The use of an Internet web site to communicate with clients and prospective clients requires compliance with DR 2-l03 and DR 2-l04 relating to advertising and solicitation.
97-04 The requesting attorney has asked whether she may utilize the services of a professional collection agency in collecting accounts receivable from her clients.
97-02 Where plaintiff’s treating physician and medical expert is also an employee of a corporate medical facility defendant, plaintiff’s attorney may communicate directly with the physician regarding the physician’s treatment of plaintiff and the physician’s expert opinion regarding issues raised in the lawsuit. This is so notwithstanding an instruction by the corporate defendant’s attorney that plaintiff’s attorney not speak with the treating physician. This rule also applies to plaintiff’s second treating physician and medical expert who is an employee and vice president of the corporate medical facility defendant.
97-01 When a trade association employs attorneys to provide legal services to its corporate members, the attorneys so employed may inform non-lawyer employees of the trade association of the details of such services rendered to officials of a corporate member if the governing body of the corporate member waives the ethical requirement of confidentiality.
96-11 An attorney who has secured information from an individual in the context of a free initial office conference, in which legal advice has been sought and given in circumstances reasonably likely to create an expectation of confidentiality, is required to treat such information as if it had been received in the course of representation, even if the conference does not result in the individual engaging the attorney for further services. Any confidences or secrets obtained as a result of the conference continue to be protected thereafter, and the attorney may not disclose such information, even if the attorney determines that the individual has presented information to a tribunal that is contradicted by the information previously given to the attorney.
96-09 Information imparted to a lawyer by a prospective client seeking legal representation is generally protected from further disclosure or use under DR 4-101, even though the lawyer does not ultimately work for the would-be client. However, if the lawyer takes adequate measures to limit the information initially imparted by the prospective client, and no representation relationship is created, the lawyer may continue to represent, or to undertake representation of another client in the same or related matter. When the subject matter of the discussion between the prospective client and the lawyer, or a member of her or his firm, is not critical to the representation of either the existing or new client in the same or related matter, the lawyer need not withdraw from either representation.
95-07 Where a client knowingly testifies falsely regarding a material matter and where the case remains pending before the court for decision when the client’s attorney learns that the client testified falsely, the attorney has a duty to call upon the client to reveal the false testimony to the court prior to the court’s decision, and if the client refuses, the attorney must make the disclosure.
91-14 Where parties agreed to disclose all financial information, and this information was used in entering into a separation agreement, a lawyer has the duty to disclose to the opposing party the existence of newly found mutual funds which had been earlier omitted by inadvertence
89-17 Unless consented to by the client, after full disclosure, an attorney may not correct or challenge a prosecutor’s factual representations to the court, favorable to the attorney’s client, even when the attorney harbors doubt as to the accuracy of the prosecutor’s representations, where the attorney’s sole source of information regarding the facts stated by the prosecutor constitutes a secret or confidence of the client.
89-06 A prosecutor must disclose facts discovered for the first time after conviction which indicate that the trial testimony of the State’s expert witness may have been incorrect or an issue material to an essential element of the State’s case.
89-02 An attorney must disclose to an opposing party facts having a negative impact on a client’s position where a failure to disclose would involve the attorney in misrepresentation.
87-19The rule permitting multiple simultaneous representation only when it is obvious that an attorney can adequately represent the interests of more than one client does not permit an agency of state government to avoid resulting conflicts arising from simultaneous representation by having the Agency subordinate its interests to those of individual clients; other issues are also addressed.
87-17 A defense attorney need not disclose to the prosecution the existence of a bank statement, not relevant to the charges on which he represents the client, that allegedly reflects money illegally obtained by the client.
86-07 A variety of irreconcilable conflicts arise when an attorney for a state agency represents the agency and individual recipients of Agency services in simultaneous or successive representation.
86-03 Employees of a legal service organization and the organization may warn potential victims of the threats of a client or an applicant for services.
83-01 A lawyer who is retained by a client to return money allegedly stolen by the client may not disclose the name of the client or any other information by the client relative to the taking of the money.
82-07 A lawyer who subsequent to settling a personal injury action learns from the client additional information that might have reduced the settlement may not disclose this information to the opposing party to rectify any deception that might have been caused.
79-16 Attorney representing seller or real estate and as agent for sale of title insurance