Quiz 2 - PR Flashcards
A client hired attorney to represent her in a wrongful death action for a car accident that killed her father and to administer the probate his estate. Subsequently, a dispute arose between the client and the attorney over how the fees would be charged for each aspect of the representation and what the attorney did for each. The attorney and the client were unable to resolve the fee dispute and litigation ensued. To support his claims and defenses in the fee dispute, the attorney had to disclose to the tribunal exactly what he did for the client and the complexity of the issues involved, which necessarily involved the disclosure of confidential information.
Was it proper for the attorney to disclose this confidential information about his client merely to prevail in a fee dispute?
A. Yes, because the representation of the client ended when the fee dispute began, so the attorney has no remaining duty of confidentiality to the client.
B. No, because the attorney owed a duty of confidentiality to the client, even after the representation ended.
C. No, because there is no exception to the confidentiality rule for fee disputes between a lawyer and client.
D. Yes, a lawyer may reveal information relating to the representation of a client to the extent the lawyer reasonably believes necessary to establish a claim or defense on his or her behalf in a controversy between the lawyer and the client.
D. Yes, a lawyer may reveal information relating to the representation of a client to the extent the lawyer reasonably believes necessary to establish a claim or defense on his or her behalf in a controversy between the lawyer and the client.
Client was charged with murder and hired an attorney to represent her. During the course of the representation, Client told the attorney that she was innocent. Client further stated she had no problem admitting the truth and asked the attorney to record her as she gave a statement to prove the veracity of her innocence. In the recording, client admitted to being the perpetrator of two unrelated murders but completely innocent of the crime for which she was currently charged. As the client explained the extremely remote location where the two bodies were buried, the attorney asked the client to draw a map and the client did. Those bodies have not been found by the police, and the client is not a suspect in either crime, both of which remain unsolved.
Is the attorney subject to discipline if he fails to voluntarily disclose to the authorities his knowledge of the two prior murders and the locations of the victims’ bodies?
A. No, because the information was obtained by the attorney in the course of the representation.
B. Yes, because the attorney is impeding the state’s access to significant evidence.
C. No, because the attorney did not represent or advise his client with respect to the prior crimes.
D. Yes, because as an officer of the court, the attorney must disclose any knowledge that he has, whether privileged or not, concerning the commission of the prior crimes by his client.
A. No, because the information was obtained by the attorney in the course of the representation.
Attorney represented a client in a matter that was settled before a complaint was filed. The settlement proceeds were paid directly to the client, who then paid the attorney in full for her fees and expenses. The attorney did not do any further work for the client. The client is now being investigated by the FBI in connection with the matter handled by the attorney on behalf of the client. The FBI has informally asked the attorney for details of the settlement, including the amount claimed for each item of damage and the amounts paid for the items. The attorney reported the request to the client, who told her not to provide the information to the FBI.
Is it proper for the attorney to provide the information to the FBI?
A. No, because the client told the attorney not to provide the information.
B. No, unless the attorney believes the disclosure would benefit the client.
C. Yes, if the information does not involve the attorney’s work product.
D. Yes, because the attorney no longer represents the client.
A. No, because the client told the attorney not to provide the information.
Acme Studios is involved in litigation that has pitted one of its leading actresses and one of its key producers against one another. As such, the litigation has received tons of media attention. Members of the board of directors for Acme Studios have asked their litigation attorneys to give a private presentation to their outside public relations firm, Spin Doctors, Inc., explaining the company’s litigation strategy and risk assessment, because the public relations firm handles press inquiries about the litigation. The litigation attorneys have had no prior contact with Spin Doctors, so they opened their presentation with a reminder that the meeting was confidential and that some of the information shared would be privileged. Later, the opposing party in the litigation learns that this meeting occurred and seeks discovery of the PowerPoint slides the lawyers used in their presentation to Spin Doctors.
Are the PowerPoint slides protected by attorney-client privilege?
A. Yes, because the communication was in confidence between lawyers and an agent of the client at the client’s direction and related to litigation.
B. No, because the public relations firm is not the client.
C. Yes, because the lawyers explained at the beginning of the private meeting that the contents of their presentation would be privileged and confidential.
D. No, because attorney-client privilege would apply only to what was said at the meeting, not to the PowerPoint slides, which could potentially be forwarded to individuals who were not at the private meeting.
B. No, because the public relations firm is not the client.
An attorney represented two different clients, a baker and a chef. The baker and the chef each made a practice of paying their attorney’s fees in cash. The attorney received separate cash payments from both the baker and the chef on the same day. Each payment consisted of several $100 bills, which the attorney immediately deposited in her bank account. One week later, the attorney was contacted by agents from the FBI, who informed her that four of the bills had been identified as counterfeit. The FBI knew the money came from some client of the attorney because of the designation on the attorney’s deposit slip. The attorney was subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury and reveal who could have given her the counterfeit money. The attorney has refused to answer the question on the grounds of attorney-client privilege, but a court has ordered the attorney to comply.
Is it proper for the attorney to provide the grand jury with the baker’s and the chef’s names?
A. No, because counterfeiting is not a crime that involves an imminent threat of death or serious bodily harm.
B. Yes, but only if the attorney has first asserted all non-frivolous claims challenging the order and has consulted with the client about the possibility of appeal.
C. No, because the attorney has no way of knowing which of the two clients gave her the counterfeit bills.
D. Yes, because the use of a counterfeit bill is a criminal act.
B. Yes, but only if the attorney has first asserted all non-frivolous claims challenging the order and has consulted with the client about the possibility of appeal.
Client hired attorney to represent her in a divorce proceeding and child custody battle. At one point, client explained to attorney that if she loses custody of the children to her estranged spouse, she has detailed plans to murder the spouse and make it look like a suicide so that she can regain custody of her children. Attorney believes that client could plausibly carry out this plan successfully, and attorney is reasonably certain that the client will indeed lose custody of the children in the current proceeding, although the trial is months away.
May attorney immediately warn the estranged spouse, the tribunal, or the police about his client’s plan?
A. No, because whenever practicable, a lawyer should first seek to persuade the client to take suitable action to obviate the need for disclosure.
B. Yes, because a lawyer may reveal information relating to the representation of a client to the extent the lawyer reasonably believes necessary to prevent reasonably certain death or substantial bodily harm.
C. No, because the far-fetched plan is still contingent on losing custody of the children, and therefore it does not constitute reasonably certain death or bodily injury and thus fails to trigger the exception to the duty of confidentiality.
D. Yes, because the client’s plan falls outside the scope of attorney’s representation in the current proceeding, and therefore the information does not come under the duty to protect client confidentiality.
A. No, because whenever practicable, a lawyer should first seek to persuade the client to take suitable action to obviate the need for disclosure.
Attorney represents a glow bracelet manufacturing company. The chairperson of the board of directors recently informed Attorney that there was a spill of the chemical that makes the bracelets glow. This spill released hundreds of gallons of toxic substances into a stream that ran into the town’s nearby water supply reservoir. This spill clearly violates environmental regulation, and if a person is subject to prolonged exposure to the chemicals, they are likely to suffer from serious illness or death. Attorney explained that the company could face civil liability for the spill and urged the chairperson t to report the spill immediately, if it was still unreported. The chairperson replied that the company could not afford the negative publicity and the impact it would have on its share price. He reminded Attorney that the upper management of the company received most of its compensation in the form of preferred stocks and options, so it seemed unfair to penalize them through a loss in share price. Attorney explained that he would have to from representation and would report the incident to the necessary public health officials, which he did, despite the chairperson insisting that this was confidential information.
Did Attorney violate his ethical duty of confidentiality to the client?
A. No, because Attorney believed the company’s disposal of toxic chemicals was reasonably certain to cause certain death or serious bodily injury to others.
B. Yes, because Attorney disclosed confidential information and betrayed his duty of loyalty to the client.
C. No, if Attorney believed that the bad publicity and decrease in share price would be even worse for the company if it emerged that there was an attempted cover-up after the chemical spill.
D. Yes, because the company’s conduct may not have been criminal and did not yet result in anyone’s death or serious bodily injury.
A. No, because Attorney believed the company’s disposal of toxic chemicals was reasonably certain to cause certain death or serious bodily injury to others.
A client met with and retained a local lawyer to help him invest in real estate. During this meeting, the client and lawyer discussed the purchase of a three-acre parcel of land. The lawyer assured the client that it was a good idea because nearby real estate was quickly appreciating in value. The lawyer further informed the client that they may be able to subdivide the parcel into two separate building lots, almost doubling the value of the three-acre parcel. The lawyer also told the client about a good local bank for obtaining a mortgage and encourages the client to consider taking on as a partner a local developer she knows. This would improve the client’s chances of getting a zoning variance, if necessary, to subdivide the three-acre parcel which the attorney thinks she can obtain. The local lawyer’s paralegal was privy to this entire conversation. The client ultimately purchased the parcel with the local lawyer handling the real estate closing. In a subsequent lawsuit by an adjoining landowner against the client, the plaintiff-landowner deposes the client and asks about his discussions with the lawyer. The client refused to disclose the contents of that discussion claiming it is protected by the attorney-client privilege.
Does the attorney-client privilege apply?
A. Yes, because under the “primary purpose” test, the discussion was facilitating the lawyer’s rendition of legal services.
B. No, the privilege does not apply because the discussion contained financial and investment advice.
C. No, because their discussion was not confidential as the lawyer’s paralegal was present.
D. Yes, the discussion is automatically privileged because the subject matter involved investment in real estate.
A. Yes, because under the “primary purpose” test, the discussion was facilitating the lawyer’s rendition of legal services.
An attorney represented a client in an action against the client’s former business partner to recover damages for breach of contract on the sale of one of the business’s properties. During the representation, the client presented the attorney with incontrovertible proof that the former business partner had committed perjury in a prior wire fraud action which was resolved in the former business partner’s favor. Neither the attorney nor the client was involved in any way in the prior action. The attorney believes that it would be detrimental to the client’s best interests to reveal the perjury in the previous wire fraud action because of the implication that might be drawn from the former close personal and business relationship between the client and his former business partner.
Does the duty of confidentiality prevent the attorney from disclosing the perjury to the court?
A. No, because the attorney has knowledge that the former business partner perpetrated a fraud on the tribunal.
B. Yes, because neither the client nor the attorney was involved in the prior action.
C. No, because the information is unprivileged.
D. Yes, because the information about the perjury is confidential and the attorney is not permitted to reveal it.
D. Yes, because the information about the perjury is confidential and the attorney is not permitted to reveal it.
A lawyer represents a client on several contract dispute cases regarding large orders of Girl Scout cookies that the client was paid for but never delivered to the purchasers. The most contentious case was filed by a woman that purchased 400 cases of Tagalongs to ensure she would not run out before cookie season next year. Things went from bad to worse for the client, as the local district attorney’s office indicted the client on offenses related to a fraudulent investment scheme he ran. The client has retained the same lawyer he used for the contract disputes to represent him in his criminal case as well. The client confided to the lawyer that he solicited and accepted money from a 75-year-old widow for a financial investment company that did not exist. The client explained that his legitimate business ran into financial troubles, and he used this scheme to obtain money to pay his company’s expenses but that he did not plan to do this again.
What may the lawyer do in this situation?
A. He may disclose the information because it involves the commission of fraud that resulted in substantial injury to the financial interests of another.
B. He may disclose the information because a lawyer may make any disclosures that relate to anticipated fraud or crime by his client.
C. He may not disclose the information, because disclosure of the financial scheme is not reasonably certain to prevent death or substantial bodily injury.
D. He may not disclose the information because the client retained him to represent him on the matter and the details provided about past actions are confidential.
D. He may not disclose the information because the client retained him to represent him on the matter and the details provided about past actions are confidential.
