Family law, confidentiality, and the new Rules of Professional Conduct

It's slowly but surely sinking in that new ethics rules take effect January 1. (It is sinking in, yes? January 1 is a few short weeks away.) And Illinois lawyers are starting to look closely from the vantage of their particular practice areas at the new RPC, speculating about what impact they might have on the most common, or perhaps most nettlesome, ethical issues they face as divorce lawyers or real estate lawyers or what have you. In that spirit, Marilyn F. Longwell has written a helpful article for the latest ISBA Family Law newsletter about how the new rules are likely to affect family lawyers and the special confidentiality issues they face. ("The first time my client related to her husband my advice on tactics in a custody dispute, I realized I was in uncharted territory," she wryly observes.) It's a meaty article with lots of good advice drawn from cases and the language of the rules. Here's a small sampling from her conclusion. "Refrain from being complicit in crimes or fraud perpetrated by your clients, report information where reasonably certain death or serious injury is likely to occur, but err on the side of confidentiality every time. Being on the 'cutting edge' of the law is fine in some circumstances, but in areas of client confidentiality it rarely pays." Read the rest here.
Posted on November 11, 2009 by Mark S. Mathewson
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