The interesting part of the two matters I will be addressing here is that an individual almost has to know prior to a suit being filed that litigation may occur. Discussions and written matter, all correspondence, emails and documents exchanged between parties should be prepared with a thought to potential litigation. Attorney Client Privilege and the Work Product Doctrine are two separate and distinct issues and should be treated within the legal world as separate disclosures. Attorney Client Privilege, which originated in Roman and canon law, has evolved into a recognized judicial doctrine and is necessary in order to provide clients with access to effective, well informed counsel. In Upjohn Co. v US the Supreme Court the Court …show more content…
Prior to a corporation or its employees taking action, it usually requires an informed legal advice. Legal direction may be either taken or dismissed; the point is that in order to provide an informed decision counsel and its direct reports are provided with confidential information. Counsel reviews the confidential information and provides an opinion on the issue. This opinion may or may not support the legality of a matter and the company may or may not act because of the information provided, however, the confidentiality of the initial information provided, the attorney’s thought process, as well as all reasoning associated with this process needed to be retained as confidential. Particularly when a corporation has in-house counsel, counsel may wear two hats. Not only is the counsel required to provide legal information, some with expert business sense, is asked to provide operational and directional advice. Corporate counsel usually holds more than one title; (in addition to those of General Counsel, Corporate Counsel, Associate Corporate Counsel, etc.) they may also hold the title of an Officer of the company (e.g. Executive Vice President, Senior Vice President, Vice President, Secretary, etc.) Counsel needs to be able to separate these titles to ensure that the General Counsel’s Work Product and
If the commercial standards of the relationship between the client and lawyer is to be acknowledged on ethical terms, once the client is in the office, it is contradictory to suggest that the same information is refuted before he arrives. The belief that legal services are exclusive to the individual customer and that pre-recognized fees cannot be decided is refuted by the record, the State Bar advocates a program where legal practitioners implement services like those advertised at fixed rates. The restriction of advertising is only to restrict information to spread to the people of the public. Advertising is the traditional practice of a marketer to familiarize a potential client of the terms of exchange. The disciplinary rule at issue has burden access to public capitalized legal services. Regulations on advertising are an impotent of determining inferior work. An attorney who is predisposed to diminish the quality of his or her’s practice will perform inadequately whether or not the rule of advertising is in place. Most attorneys will perform on good ethics as they consistently have in the past and as they were trained to do by the State Bar of Arizona. They will abide by their oaths. Advertising by lawyers may not be subjected to blanket suppression. Advertising that is false or deceptive is liable to restraint, and there may be restrictions on the specific time and place of its
Lawyers can't represent clients when they have a conflict of interest. For example, an attorney could not sue someone he had previously represented if his previous representation gave him information that would lead to an unfair advantage or the appearance of one. This is where the ethical issues began to arise lawyers in the same firm typically can't represent clients with opposing interests. Even if one lawyer in the firm has no direct conflict of interest, the fact that another lawyer does might prohibit representation that could lead to sanctions or complications for the lawyer or the firm he or she may represent.
The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution states: “In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right… to have the assistance of counsel for his defense” (U.S. Const. amend. VI). The history of the modern right to counsel dates back to over a century ago in the Indiana Supreme Court case of Webb v. Baird, 6 In. 13 (1853), in which the right to counsel for a person accused of a crime was officially recognized (Koplow, 2007). However, it was not a decision based on constitutional or statutory law, but a decision warranted under “the principles of a civilized society” (Koplow, 2007). Since the case of Webb v. Baird, the right to counsel has immensely extended beyond just appointing an indigent person an attorney.
1. If you were representing the Company in this case, what argument (facts and reasons) could you make that the confidentiality agreement had a legitimate business purpose and was applied appropriately to Martinez?
This review will address several issues associated with the legal, business, and ethics related to the case. First, it will describe the legality of the case by reviewing the
Melvin, S. P. (2011). The legal environment of business: A managerial approach: Theory to practice. New York, NY:
“.06 An auditor ordinarily does not possess legal skills and, therefore, cannot make legal judgments concerning information coming to his attention. Accordingly, the auditor should request the client 's management to send a letter of inquiry to those lawyers with whom management consulted concerning litigation, claims, and assessments.
There are many types of privileges in the court system. The two main privileges that are well known are attorney-client and doctor-patient (Wellborn, 2012). Attorney-client privilege is between an attorney and the client that they are representing in the court of law. When a conversation happens between an attorney and their client, it is important for the client to know that information that, they give to their attorney is privileged and cannot be discussed with anyone else. The attorney-client privilege is in regards to the relationship between an attorney and his client. The client must make it clear that the information they are giving to the attorney needs to be kept private. There are four conditions that make up the attorney-client privileges: there must be a relationship between attorney and client and, it must be regarding a case. Third, the client must show that communication was made in confidence, and fourth the client must show she had an expectation of confidentiality (Johnson, 2014). Communication between the client and attorney can be spoken or written, or an act can be performed in front of the attorney.
The purpose of rules of ethics that attorneys are obligated to abide by is to protect the Attorney-Client Relationship and enable full disclosure of information that is necessary for lawyers to provide competent representation in favor of their client. Confidentiality and the Attorney-Client
The Courts and Legal Services Act 1990 only allowed qualified and regulated Solicitors and Barristers the rights of audience before a Court in proceedings to which the individual was not a party to. The Access t Justice Act 1999 made it possible for other professional groups beyond Solicitors and Barristers to grant rights to their members. A number of bodies took advantage of this including the Association of Law Costs Draftsman.
The primary source of the right to counsel is the Sixth Amendment. It states in all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to have the Assistance of Counsel for defence. In this article, the development of the right to council will be discussed as well as when the right to council attaches to criminal procedures. The right to self- representation and the role of attorneys as it applies to right to council will be discussed as well.
ethical problem, but can not be the legal policy for a firm. The firm should evaluate
My criteria to evaluate my attorney performance for my business. I will base my oversight on how to avoid Legal trouble by doing my performance. I will create a template to evaluate the attorney performance. Which will protect myself and the employees, by doing that the workers and my business will be protected from legal liability? According to Judy Capko, who states that “these form you use should focus only on the essential job performance areas. Limiting these areas of focus makes the assessment more meaningful and relevant and allows you and the employee to address the issues that matter most. You don’t need to cover every detail of an employee’s performance in an evaluation.” I will also make a form of penal and termination procedures,
Merriam-Webster dictionary defines an ethical dilemma as a problem where a person has to choose between a moral and an immoral act. Attorneys come into contact daily which involves the attorney-client relationships. The attorney-client privilege is a legal privilege that works to keep communications between a lawyer and his/her client secret (silence is golden). The privilege is a legal doctrine that protects confidential information, the contents and actions related to the privileged communication must preserve the integrity of the attorney-client privilege. This paper presents the ethical dilemmas of the attorney-client privileges, trust and the importance of adequate closure in attorney-client relationships.
The support staff owes the client confidentiality and fairness. They owe the court their honesty in not misleading the court with false statements or facts known to be false. The litigation support person owes their confidentiality and ethical conduct.