Category: Legal Malpractice Posted on Mar 26, 2018

Lawyer & Client Confidentiality

While correct, a recent article about social media posts by lawyers misses the mark when it indicated that lawyers may vent to a spouse, their friends, or their clients about a case. This break in confidentiality increases the likelihood of being disciplined.

Yes if it is on social media they are more likely to be caught, but the real issue is everyone associated with the firm must never comment anything about a client or a firms case. This means no comments by staff, the office cleaning service, or any lawyer. In our work suing lawyers we generally don’t see this as the major problem because most of the comments don’t cause damages, or they are rarely discovered.

I am however shocked by the number of lawyers who believe they can freely comment on public record aspects of their client’s case without permission of the client. We are not permitted to even say we represent a specific client without permission. Privilege is not the determining factor.

The primary exception is that we can reveal privileged or confidential information if it is in the interest of the client and with authority, explicit or implied.

If you have been damaged by your lawyer’s broken confidentiality, call us because we can make him pay.

Bruce Stanger

My litigation experience includes family law, divorce, product liability, construction law, professional negligence, shareholder disputes, legal malpractice, and general commercial litigation.

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