...Attorney-Client Confidentiality Paper The Court System CJS_220 February, 2013 The attorney-client confidentiality covers all communication between any person looking for legal advice and a lawyer, is protected legally because this type of communication is considered “privileged” and to be confidently. The disclosure of any information to third parties about any type of mention for what the issues are about with the case is strictly condoned. The attorney-client confidentiality is covered under all types of lawyers, or even attorney legal assistances for any kind of civil, criminal or even all information about marital divorce cases ("Understanding Lawyer Client Confidentiality", 2013). According to “The Basics of Attorney Client Privilege" (2013), the courts do have exceptions for upholding privilege information if the other person is put into great harm and that a judge may force disclosure over certain factors. There is also some information that will and cannot be covered under confidentiality or privilege information about committing or intent to commit fraud or a crime. The privilege is essential for communication, trust, and confidentiality between the client –lawyer relationship to work and because the lawyer needs to know any information concerning the case to help represent the facts of a case (Ch. 6, p. 161-162). According to “The Basics of Attorney Client Privilege” some states apply different attorney-client privilege laws and the government has...
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...Attorney-Client Confidentiality Melissa Eichelberger CJS 220 December 14, 2011 With attorney-client confidentiality we think of this as a conversation between a client and their attorney. This conversation allows the client to talk to their attorney and let him or her know any and all information that would help their attorney to determine a legal defense for their client. Any information that the client tells their attorney is a privilege and cannot be used against them in court. So by this happening the client will feel comfortable telling their attorney everything about the case so that there is no information that might come up as a surprise during the trial or court case that would surprise their attorney and maybe hurt the client at the same time. This is important part of the justice system because the client has an attorney that they can confide in and that they can trust that will have their best interest in mind, and anything that the client tells their attorney cannot be used against them in court and will be kept confidential. One concern about the client-attorney confidentiality could be where the attorney doesn’t keep good records in source and some information would leak out with information about the client. When there is out sourcing that means that there is a chance that information that is privileged could get out to the wrong people and could possibly hurt the client’s case. This is called Metadata which means the transferring of any and all information...
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...Assignment: Unit 3 Confidentiality and Attorney/Client Privilege Name: Donna Marie Brown Date: July 26, 2015 Possible Points: 100 Confidentiality and Attorney- Client Privilege Donna Marie Brown Kaplan University Confidentiality and the Alton Logan Case “Sometimes trying to make wrongful conviction right, creates an ethical tension for civil and criminal attorneys. With any kind of practice, but mostly with criminal defense, a lawyer may learn from a client that they committed a crime ascribed to someone else. When an innocent person is faced with conviction, imprisonment, or in some cases, the death penalty, and the attorney is mindful of the injustice occurring to a third party, the lawyer is still bound by the rules of confidentiality to honor their commitment to their client.” (Strutin, 2015) And this begins the case with Mr. Alton Logan. In 1982, Alton Logan was convicted of killing a security guard at a Chicago-area McDonalds. Even though the testimony that Logan was at home when the murder happened, the jury still found him guilty of first degree murder And to top it off, the two attorneys, Dale Coventry and Jamie Kunz, knew Logan was innocent. And how did this knowledge come about? Andrew Wilson, the attorneys’ client, admitted to the murder. The two attorneys who were representing Wilson, for killing two policemen, was told by Wilson that he was also guilty of killing the security guard at McDonalds. But because of the attorney-client privilege, Coventry...
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...DUTIES TO CLIENT Fiduciary Duty Attorney Must place the client’s interests above their own for representation and must treat the client fairly. Duty of Loyalty Attorney must pursue clients objectives unfettered by conflicting responsibilities or interests Duty of Diligence Attorney must pursue clients interests without undue delay Duty of Competence Attorney must give client competent representation legal knowledge, skill thoroughness and preparation Duty of Confidentiality from the 6th Amendment Right to Effective Counsel Duty of Confidentiality versus Attorney-Client Privilege The Attorney Client privilege is a shield in evidence which protects all documents created for the client during discovery....if a third party is present the privilege is lost. Work-Product Doctrine this extends to memorializations of conversations with 3rd parties, but not the actual conversations themselves. Anything produced/recorded in the process of and bearing on the legal representation of a client is protected (e.g. interviews, artifacts, documents, mental impressions...meaning ideas/thoughts, etc) POLICY: We want attorneys to record their impressions so they can have more sophisticated representation, therefore we protect it. BUT, if your opponent can show a substantial need for the material AND they show that they cannot get it in any other way....then you have to hand it over. The attorney-client privilege is thus stronger than work product (because WP can be...
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...Governor-Attorney Client Privilege I. The Office of the Governor should not invoke government attorney-client privilege to prevent testimony by a government lawyer when the lawyer is subpoenaed in a federal grand jury investigation for possible federal criminal violations. This decision is up to the courts in a case by case basis. a. Attorney Client Privilege is subject to the common law by courts “in the light of reason and experience.” FRE 501. i. FRE 501 can be relied on over FRE 503 at the discretion of the Court. 1. FRE 503(a)(1) only makes “broad propositions that a governmental body may be a client for purposes of the attorney-client privilege” (In Re Duces Tecum, 8th circuit, 916). a. “We are instructed by Rule 501 to interpret the attorney-client privilege via common law ‘in light of reason and experience’ and not solely in light of the rule promulgated by the Supreme Ct. in 1972” (Id). ii. Necessity of Granting Potentially Relevant Info to Fed. Grand Jury as a matter of Constitution and Criminal Justice. 2. It is up to the federal grand jury to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to justify a formal accusation against a person for a crime (US Constitution, 5th amendment). 3. The rule of law should reign supreme and should be considered natural that every step be taken to ensure that justice be served promptly. b. “Supreme Ct. recognizes that the principle...
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...a security guard in which he did not commit. The true murderer, Andrew Wilson, had also committed two other murders of whom were police officers. Attorneys Dale Coventry and Jamie Kunz were the attorneys for Andrew Wilson, they knew that Mr. Wilson was guilty of the murders, however, under their duty of confidentiality they were unable to break the silence and speak up for 26 long years. There was an affidavit written by the attorneys, to hold onto just in case if anytime down the line there was an opportunity to speak up, they would be able to do so. According to Rule 1.6: Confidentiality of Information (a) A lawyer shall not reveal information relating to the representation of a client unless the client gives informed consent, the disclosure is impliedly authorized in order to carry out the representation, or the disclosure is permitted by paragraph (b) or required by paragraph (c). (b) A lawyer may reveal information relating to the representation of a client to the extent the lawyer reasonably believes necessary: (1) to prevent the client from committing a crime in circumstances other than those specified in paragraph (c); (2) to prevent the client from committing fraud that is reasonably certain to result in substantial injury to the financial interests or property of another and in furtherance of which the client has used or is using the lawyer’s services; (3) to prevent, mitigate or rectify substantial injury to the financial interests or property of another...
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...Confidentiality: Public Information Vanessa Martinez Kaplan University Part 1 Confidentiality: Public Information Any party of a legal team working on a case has the duty to remain silent when information about a case has been made public. “The Duty-is a personal promise made to each client” (Confidentiality Issue: Public Information) Thomas F. Goldman. Rule 1.6 of ABA model rules requires lawyers to keep any information received from a client private at all times, even if the case is made public. For instance, in the video Alesha reads a newspaper article aloud containing information to a case Judy is currently working on. Even though the case was public and Alesha read it aloud Judy was still not able to give any information to Alesha due to confidently laws that protect the client. Information made public can always be false, newspapers always want to create drama sometimes creating more of the situation when that is not the case. In the second scenario Judy did the right thing by telling Alesha she shouldn’t believe everything she reads and that it was not a good idea to talk about the case where there are so many people present. If incorrect information about a case has been made public, members of a legal team cannot correct this misinformation. If any person in a legal team decides to correct the information, it would be a violation of confidently and can result in serious consequences. Information that newspaper leaks or creates is to be ignored and attorneys are...
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...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 stated that “Its purpose is to encourage full and frank communication between attorneys and their clients and thereby promote broader public interests in the observance of law and administration of justice.”(a) However, since the passage of the Patriot Act (b) (terrorism, September 11, 2001), and the various corporate scandals leading to the Sarbanes Oxley Act(c) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (2001 Seaboard Report) and the fall out from such companies as Enron, WorldCom the federal, state and regulatory offices of the government are attempting to pierce the Attorney Client Privilege. The government has attempted through two (2) separate practices to tear into what was once considered a “privilege” that was recognized and adhered to throughout the US. The two (2) issues we know face are (i) attorneys are being required to “waive” attorney client privilege in order to appear cooperative. Failure to waive has resulted in the court stipulating that the attorney was being uncooperative; thus penalties have...
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...The Paralegal Profession and Ethics Based on the reading for this week, describe the role of a paralegal and the skills necessary to be a paralegal. Why are these skills important? Are paralegals able to represent clients? What is attorney-client privilege and how does this relate to the role of a paralegal? Summarize the Biblical Model as presented by Professor Bern. Post: The role of the paralegal: I would say that the role of a paralegal is primarily to assist an attorney, law office, or government agency. But there can be other roles as well that are less common, such as but not limited to assisting individuals in matters involving the social security administration. The roles of the paralegal and what duties they perform can vary widely from the common conception of working under an attorney or law firm by preparing for hearings, trials, meetings, real estate closings, helping draft documents, and even maintaining financial records; to working for federal, state, or local government agencies collecting and analyzing data for internal use as well as preparing information for use by the general public. Thomas F. Goldman & Henry R. Cheeseman, The Paralegal Professional 4, 5 (3rd ed. 2011). The skills of the paralegal: The skills of a paralegal very widely depending upon the type of work the paralegal is specialized in or engaged in. But there are some common skills shared by most paralegals and are very important. These common skills are also known as soft skills...
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...Attorney Client Confidentiality Susana Lugo CJS/220 July, 19 2015 Tony Stroud Attorney Client Confidentiality The defense is obligated to hold strictly confidential all conversations and other communications with the defendant, including all information which the defense lawyer receives from the defendant during the course of representation. The defense lawyer must pursue the representation conscientiously and without delay.The Defense attorney must keep private any information given by their client and is protected of the client’s ability to confide freely in his or her attorney. The attorney/client privilege often prevents disclosure of information that would be relevant to a legal proceeding. Each of the following elements must exist for the privilege to apply; The person asserting privilege must be a client or someone attempting to establish a relationship as a client; The person with whom the client communicated must be an attorney and acting in the capacity as an attorney at the time of the communication; The communication must be between the attorney and client exclusively; The communication must be for the purpose of securing a legal opinion, legal services, or assistance in some legal proceeding, and not for the purpose of committing a crime or fraud; and The privilege must be claimed by the client. (Only the client may claim or waive the privilege.) The defense is often put in a predicament where the client may reveal information...
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...Check Point Attorney-Confidentiality Attorney confidentiality is a legal concept that protects certain communications between a client and his or her attorney and keeps those communications confidential. This is very important because it allows the accused to tell their attorney everything in full disclosures without any penalty. The attorneys are then able to provide candid advice and effective representation. One major concern with attorney confidentiality is that the accused does not tell his or her attorney all the facts. An attorney cannot represent a client unless they understand everything behind the issue. The accused must understand that facts against him or her might be out there that could come up in the future and seriously damage their case. If clients could provide information without the assurance that it remains between them and the attorney, then they would keep the information to themselves. Many people believe without attorney confidentiality there would be a justice system based on who is the most skillful liar rather than a process for discovering the truth. Maintaining confidentiality has another major concern because there are new exceptions coming about to where confidentiality can be broken. For example, if a client had two attorneys, he is no longer associated with the first attorney, but the information that was given to the first lawyer in some cases could be ruled acceptable evidence in court. To me I think that is unfair because if you are not...
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...Attorney-Client Confidential 5/15/15 Kiersten Beam The attorney-client confidential encourage clients to open up to their attorney and disclose all pertinent information in legal matters by protecting such disclosures from discovery at trial. This information is held strictly between the attorney and client and will remain private, as long as the court doesn’t force disclosure. However, this privilege does not apply if the communications between the client and the attorney that are made in an act to commit fraud or any other crime. The client is the one in charge on deciding what is to remain confidential and what is okay to discuss in court. If it is found that the attorney broke the attorney-client confidentiality, the client can fire the attorney and in some cases if the client can prove that the attorney knowingly broke the attorney-client confidentiality, the client can then report the attorney to the bar. It could also be breach of a fiduciary duty, which may give you a claim for money damages if the disclosure injured you in some way. The attorney-client confidentiality is important to the criminal justice system because when the attorney can have their client speak freely about the case to them, they can better help the person win their case. Also clients need to feel safe talking to their attorney. If clients didn’t then when it came to court, the person who would win the case would win based off who had a lawyer that could lie better, than when off of actual...
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...Graded Project- Paralegal Program Attorney Howe’s possible Ethical Violations: (MONDAY) Model Rule 5.5(B)- Attorney Howe, left a new hire, Carl, unattended, while also suggesting that he may conduct interviews in his office without specifying particulars regarding his presence or direct supervisory responsibilities. In hindsight, Attorney Howe could be indirectly contributing to the unauthorized practice of law due to his gross negligence to supervise his paralegal. ABA 5.3 (A)(B)(C). – Attorney Howe did not make reasonable efforts to supervise his paralegal. Mr. Howe knew that Carl was inexperienced in the firm as a “new-hire and should have practiced due diligence in his supervisorial duties. Attorney Howe failed to give clear guidelines and did not take immediate remedial action after Carl informed Howe that a new case was taken without his supervision. ABA 1.6 (C ) - Attorney Howe was negligent in his duty to maintain client confidentiality by leaving his office with visibly exposed client work products. Legal Assistant, Carl Jackson’s possible Ethical Violations: (Monday) NFPA-1.8(A) -Legal assistant, Carl, may have engaged in unauthorized practice of law by taking on a case without a supervising attorney’s knowledge and by giving legal advice to an inquiring client(s) regarding whether or not to pursue alimony. Furthermore, Carl negotiated the price of a fixed rate service without supervision, something only an attorney has the authority to do, which could...
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...Attorney-Client Confidentiality Attorney-client confidentiality is a legal concept that was created to protect certain communications or conversations between a client and his or her attorney in which they have chosen to represent them. These communications are meant to be kept confidential between both parties. So even if a lawyer is representing a person, and him or her openly admits to committing a crime, its still up to the lawyer to prove his or her innocence. The attorney-client privilege is recognized as one of the oldest and most recognized privileges for confidential communications. The United States Supreme Court has always stated that by assuring confidentiality the privilege encourages clients to make complete and truthful disclosures to his or her attorneys, who are then in better positions to be able to provide the best advice and the most effective representation in their defense. In majority of cases, the determination that the attorney-client relationship exists is not a difficult process. “Assume that the attorney-client relationship is well-established, is every communication protected? That also depends. The basic attorney-client privilege protects client communications with the attorney. It also extends to responsive communications from the lawyer to the client. However, the communication need not be as evident as an oral or written action. On the contrary, the slightest action or inaction, such as an affirmative nod or complete silence, may constitute...
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...Courtroom Discretion Q&A Response Misty Moore, Victoria Hardin and Elizabeth Ortiz CJA/224 September 19, 2011 Rick Rice Courtroom Discretion Q&A Response What is prosecutorial discretion? When a crime happens evidence is gathered, witnesses are found and a case file is established all the information. Due to an overabundance of case files, prosecutors review each file and which will be brought to trial. When there is enough evidence to convince the prosecutor the person suspected of committing the crime is guilty without a reasonable doubt, he or she will pursue the case to trial. Many decisions pertaining to a case going to trial and how actively they pursue the case are left up to prosecutors and how they view the evidence and what the evidence means to them. This can be described as prosecutorial discretion. How does this affect the prosecutor and overall case flow in the criminal court system? Prosecutorial discretion puts an abundance of pressure on the prosecutors and their roles in the courts. The prosecution must without a reasonable doubt prove the defendant is responsible for committing the crime. And in doing so must remain within the regulations of the courts. Sometimes the prosecution’s personal, ethical. Organizational, or political beliefs can becomea driving force into a trail which can have negative effects on the courts when misconduct occurs or mistakes are made. When misconduct or mistakes are made it can have very damaging effects...
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