Legal Ethics Archives

Compensation From One Other Than Your Client, The Bank of Mom and Dad and Others, Beware

The California Rules of Professional Conduct (CRPC) generally prohibit representation of adverse interests without a conflict waiver. Subparagraph (F) of CRPC 3-310 imposes disclosure and consent requirements when attorneys are compensated by someone other than the attorney’s client. (For California…

Risk Management Tip: Waivers of Attorney-Client Privilege Cannot be Undone

Last month, this column examined Sanford Walder’s trial victory over his former employer, Bio-Rad. The district court allowed Wadler to offensively employ material Bio-Rad claimed was protected by attorney-client privilege. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 502, premised on Model Rule…

Read That (Privileged) Email – and Weep!

Have you ever hit “send” on a sensitive email before realizing that your handy, autofill tool inserted the address of the wrong recipient? Or been the unintended recipient of such misdirected emails? What to do? Thankfully, the misguided email usually…

Risk Management Tip: Attorney-Client Privilege Depends on the Forum

Prior to the verdict in Wadler v. Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc., et al (U.S.D.C. No. CA No. 15-cv-02356-JCS), a wrongful termination case, Bio-Rad’s public relations machine had framed a narrative of an out-of-touch, long-term in-house attorney who collected a paycheck but…

The Digital Milieu: A Lawyer’s Duty of Competence and Protection

Mickey Haller sat in the back seat of his Lincoln Town Car on his way to the office of his murdered criminal defense attorney colleague to take possession of his dead colleague’s client files. The murdered colleague had included Haller…

Risk Management Tip: Retainer Agreements Manage Client Expectations

In the competition to land a case it is tempting to overstate the value of a claim, or understate the cost of litigation, setting client expectations at an unrealistic level. Some attorneys fear that being up front about potential case…

The Ethics of Facebook Friending

Facebook can be a gold mine of information about litigants and witnesses. A personal injury plaintiff alleging debilitating leg injuries may post photos of her latest hiking trip. A defendant in a wrongful discharge case may make discriminatory remarks.…

Court Reporting Ethics Panel Takes On Controversial Topics

During the recent CLE program “Can You Say That? Legal Ethics of Working with Court Reporters,” put on by the Paralegal Section, these questions were addressed: • Do you know what Assembly Bill 1197 requires in Notices of Deposition? •…

Risk Management Tip: Keep Invoices Bland

For generations California attorneys have understood the attorney-client privilege is an absolute shield against discovery. Case after case has broadly interpreted and reinforced the strength of the privilege. Three cases in 2016 demonstrated the continued force of this shield. In…

Think Twice Before You File That Exhibit

Think of that moment when someone else’s mistake becomes your problem. For example, opposing counsel inadvertently attaches a confidential settlement agreement between his client and yours to a declaration filed in an unrelated matter. You know how it happens –…

Risk Management Tip: Another Good Reason to Break Up With Your Client

Last month we discussed how a clear termination of the attorney client relationship eliminates questions of fact about applying the statute of limitations, C.C.P. § 340.6, if a claim occurs. This month we discuss another benefit: avoiding conflicts of interest…

The Attorney-Client Privilege in Workplace Investigations

Attorneys are often called upon by employers to facilitate investigations of workplace misconduct. One reason this is done is so the findings and conclusion of the investigation may receive the protection of the attorney-client privilege. However, under California law the…

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