Maintaining Client Confidentiality When Seeking Legal Advice Online
December 5, 2024
Maintaining Client Confidentiality When Seeking Legal Advice Online
According to an article by Jeffrey Hamilton Geiger of Sands Anderson PC, attorneys seeking advice from colleagues via online forums or email listservs must be cautious about revealing client information, as doing so can violate client confidentiality obligations under Rule 1.6 of the Virginia Rules of Professional Conduct.
Rule 1.6(a) prohibits lawyers from disclosing information gained in the professional relationship that the client wishes to keep confidential or could harm the client’s interests. This duty extends to former clients and covers not just attorney-client privileged communications but all client-related information.
The article notes that even if a lawyer anonymizes a request, the confidentiality rule still applies if there’s a reasonable chance that the lawyer’s post could lead others to infer the client’s identity or the case’s details. The American Bar Association (ABA) advises that, without client consent, even hypothetical or abstract posts that could indirectly reveal a client’s identity are prohibited. However, general legal inquiries unrelated to client details are acceptable.
Special caution is needed in small or specialized legal communities where a seemingly generic query could lead to the identification of the client. In-house lawyers and government attorneys must also carefully consider the risk of disclosure when posting client-related questions in such forums.
Geiger highlights best practices for posting, including obtaining informed client consent if there’s any risk of disclosure, using general or hypothetical language, and ensuring the inquiry cannot lead to the identification of the client. Lawyers should ask themselves whether a third party could deduce the client’s identity from the post or responses before proceeding. The goal is to safeguard client confidentiality while benefiting from peer consultation.
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