And last of all is news and public records, reportedly used by around 20% of surveyed attorneys. Over half of the surveyed attorneys said they use free online sources to research case dockets, corporations/companies, judges, lawyers, public records, state legislation/statutes, general news, and legal news.
To put it briefly, the Duty of Confidentiality states that your lawyer cannot reveal anything that is related to your legal representation without your consent. Thus, your lawyer is prohibited from revealing any matter that might be related to the legal claim for which you have hired them.
Once a lawsuit gets underway, parties to the lawsuit or their lawyers start gathering information related to the lawsuit. This investigative process is aptly named "discovery," because it often turns up facts and documents that were previously unknown -- to at least one party to the lawsuit anyway.
What does an attorney do when a court requests disclosure of information that the attorney believes to be privileged? The lawyer may or may not be compelled to testify about the source of the evidence, depending on his or her role in obtaining the evidence and the state law.
Generally, you can disclose confidential information where: The individual has given consent. The information is in the public interest (that is, the public is at risk of harm due to a patient's condition)
The duty of confidentiality prevents lawyers from even informally discussing information related to their clients' cases with others. They must ordinarily keep private almost all information related to representation of the client, even if that information didn't come from the client.
Primary sources of law are constitutions, statutes, regulations, and cases. Lawmaking powers are divided among three branches of government: executive; legislative; and judicial. These three branches of government, whether federal or state, create primary sources of law.
The discovery process is the way you (and the other party) discover the other side's view of what happened in the case. This process is like a roadmap allowing you to see the other side's version of when and where things happened.
Formal discovery is the process of discovery that is clearly regulated by statute and common law. Types of formal discovery include such requests as interrogatories, requests for production of documents, and depositions.
Confidential client information is any client information that is not available to the public. Confidential information may include technology, trade secrets, information pertaining to business operations and strategies, and information pertaining to customers, pricing and marketing.
No matter how the attorney-client privilege is articulated, there are four basic elements necessary to establish its existence: (1) a communication; (2) made between privileged persons; (3) in confidence; (4) for the purpose of seeking, obtaining or providing legal assistance to the client.
Dos of confidentialityAsk for consent to share information.Consider safeguarding when sharing information.Be aware of the information you have and whether it is confidential.Keep records whenever you share confidential information.Be up to date on the laws and rules surrounding confidentiality.
Why would a good lawyer not tell a client how their case will come out at the initial consultation? A good lawyer knows that every case is different and without doing research. A good lawyer will not guarantee the outcome of any case.
In order to determine whether an attorney may represent a potential new client or an existing client in a new matter, the attorney must (1) identify the client; (2) determine whether a conflict exists; (3) decide if representation could be undertaken despite the conflict; and, (4) get consent from all clients involved ...
Under attorney-client privilege, lawyers are not allowed to divulge the details of anything their clients tell them in a court of law. In addition to that, The Duty of Confidentiality protects clients from having their lawyers casually discuss the private details of their case outside of court.
In general, as long as the prospective client is seeking legal advice or representation and reasonably believes the communication will be confidential, the consultation is privileged. This is so even if the would-be client never pays or hires the attorney.