A: With one exception in the Rules of Professional Conduct, a lawyer does not have an obligation to bring adverse facts that would hurt his client’s cause to the attention of opposing counsel or the court.
Under Rule of Professional Conduct 3.3, titled “Candor to the Tribunal,” a lawyer can’t knowingly make false statements of material fact or law; a lawyer can’t offer evidence that the lawyer knows to be false; and a lawyer has to disclose adverse legal authority under Rule 3.3(a)(2). But disclosing adverse legal authority is different than disclosing adverse facts.
