Ethics Forum: Questions and Answers on Professional Responsibility
I am an attorney and a client has approached me about an issue, but I am not sure of the ethical ramifications. Can I call the Pennsylvania Bar Association's legal ethics committee hotline or would that violate my confidentiality requirements to the client?
August 03, 2023 at 02:10 PM
8 minute read
Ethics
Chester County lawyer Samuel C. Stretton. Courtesy photo
Any call to a lawyer on ethics must be done with the understanding that the call is confidential.
I am an attorney and a client has approached me about an issue, but I am not sure of the ethical ramifications. Can I call the Pennsylvania Bar Association's legal ethics committee hotline or would that violate my confidentiality requirements to the client?
The question is an interesting one. It is not an uncommon practice where a lawyer may be representing a client and an ethical issue arises, and the bar association's legal ethics committee is often consulted by lawyers. A consult is usually confidential in nature. Similiairly, lawyers may be representing a client, and there may be an issue on the underlining litigation where the lawyer might want to call another lawyer who has experience or expertise in a particular area of law to consult with them. It would seem to be foolish not to allow the lawyer to do so, or to preclude the lawyer from doing so because it would be a breach of confidentiality under Rule 1.6 of the Rules of Professional Conduct. As has been often said, Rule 1.6 is a very broad confidentiality rule and is far broader than the old confidence and secrets. It applies to anything related to the representation of a client without the client's conformed consent.
Obviously, a lawyer could get the consent of the client to talk to someone, but it appears that the Rules of Professional Conduct recognize the need, at times, for a lawyer to consult with another lawyer to get advice about ethical issues that might arise. Under the Rules of Professional Conduct in Pennsylvania, under Rule 1.6(c)(5), the following is said,
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All
Avoiding Conflict When Relating Advice to an Adverse Party to Facilitate a Client Matter
4 minute read
Matt's Corner: Pa.R.D.E. 217—Obligations of a Formerly Admitted Attorney
2 minute read
Trending Stories
- 1How Alzheimer’s and Other Cognitive Diseases Affect Guardianship, POAs and Estate Planning
- 2How Lower Courts Are Interpreting Justices' Decision in 'Muldrow v. City of St. Louis'
- 3Phantom Income/Retained Earnings and the Potential for Inflated Support
- 4Should a Financially Dependent Child Who Rejects One Parent Still Be Emancipated?
- 5Advising Clients on Special Needs Trusts
Who Got The Work
J. Brugh Lower of Gibbons has entered an appearance for industrial equipment supplier Devco Corporation in a pending trademark infringement lawsuit. The suit, accusing the defendant of selling knock-off Graco products, was filed Dec. 18 in New Jersey District Court by Rivkin Radler on behalf of Graco Inc. and Graco Minnesota. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi, is 3:24-cv-11294, Graco Inc. et al v. Devco Corporation.
Who Got The Work
Rebecca Maller-Stein and Kent A. Yalowitz of Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer have entered their appearances for Hanaco Venture Capital and its executives, Lior Prosor and David Frankel, in a pending securities lawsuit. The action, filed on Dec. 24 in New York Southern District Court by Zell, Aron & Co. on behalf of Goldeneye Advisors, accuses the defendants of negligently and fraudulently managing the plaintiff's $1 million investment. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick, is 1:24-cv-09918, Goldeneye Advisors, LLC v. Hanaco Venture Capital, Ltd. et al.
Who Got The Work
Attorneys from A&O Shearman has stepped in as defense counsel for Toronto-Dominion Bank and other defendants in a pending securities class action. The suit, filed Dec. 11 in New York Southern District Court by Bleichmar Fonti & Auld, accuses the defendants of concealing the bank's 'pervasive' deficiencies in regards to its compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and the quality of its anti-money laundering controls. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, is 1:24-cv-09445, Gonzalez v. The Toronto-Dominion Bank et al.
Who Got The Work
Crown Castle International, a Pennsylvania company providing shared communications infrastructure, has turned to Luke D. Wolf of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani to fend off a pending breach-of-contract lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 25 in Michigan Eastern District Court by Hooper Hathaway PC on behalf of The Town Residences LLC, accuses Crown Castle of failing to transfer approximately $30,000 in utility payments from T-Mobile in breach of a roof-top lease and assignment agreement. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Susan K. Declercq, is 2:24-cv-13131, The Town Residences LLC v. T-Mobile US, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Wilfred P. Coronato and Daniel M. Schwartz of McCarter & English have stepped in as defense counsel to Electrolux Home Products Inc. in a pending product liability lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 26 in New York Eastern District Court by Poulos Lopiccolo PC and Nagel Rice LLP on behalf of David Stern, alleges that the defendant's refrigerators’ drawers and shelving repeatedly break and fall apart within months after purchase. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Joan M. Azrack, is 2:24-cv-08204, Stern v. Electrolux Home Products, Inc.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250
