Ethical Dilemma in the Attorney-Client Privilege Essay

The disclosure of sensitive and confidential information by my client is potentially incriminating. The implication of disclosing this form of confidential information has serious implications that translate to legal consequences for both the client and the attorney. The biggest dilemma is that fidelity to the Federal Rules of Evidence seems to be an obstruction from evidence gathering and subsequent administration of the course of justice to a heinous crime committed. However, a deeper understanding of the dynamics of the criminal jurisprudence guides my decision as an attorney to decide on this matter.

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Interpreting the attorney-client privilege in the light of reason and experience, I realize it is my legal and moral obligation to commit to non-disclosure of confidential information that comes from my communication with my client. I understand that I must protect the information at all costs and no one should compel me to divulge it (Annabelle, 2017). It is both a legal and ethical requirement that I must give my effective client representations ("Rule 502: Attorney-Client Privilege and Work Product; Limitations on Waiver," 2011). In this case, my association with my client is based on acting in a professional capacity; the client intends that the communication between us should remain private and the client's interest in the conversation is to seek legal counseling.

In my practice as an attorney, I work in compliance with my obligation to respect all the tenets of the law in wholesale. The protection of the client's privilege is my responsibility. The law bars me from disclosing both verbal and written ("Attorney-Client Privilege - General Counsel - Wayne State University") communications that took place at a time and location that the client expects to remain private. I have obtained the client's confidences, and the only circumstance I should discuss this issue with is the legal team members that form part of the larger defense of my client-which, in this case, is only me (Van & San Fernando Valley Bar Association, 2016). The privilege in this scenario is the client's, and not mine as the attorney. Therefore, it is the prerogative of the client to waive their absolute privilege, but not me as an attorney.

In my duty of confidentiality, the binding rule of the attorney-client privilege is the law of evidence. The essence of the law is to deter an advocate like myself from willingly committing to testify against my client base on their confession, and being coerced into testifying about my clients' statements (Van & San Fernando Valley Bar Association, 2016). Beyond abiding by the provisions of the law to observe my duty of confidentiality, I in my capacity as an attorney owe my client duty of confidentiality. My duty of confidentiality to my client restricts me from discussing at any place with anyone, even informally, the information that connects with my client's case ("Rule 502: Attorney-Client Privilege and Work Product; Limitations on Waiver," 2011). I am supposed to keep enclosed all the information related to the client's case even if the source of information is not the client.

The client shared with me this information in seclusion in the absence of any recognizable third party. Presumably, the client logically expects the disclosure to remain a tightly-kept secret (Van & San Fernando Valley Bar Association, 2016). I am only justified to contribute to this information if the client decides to forfeit the confidentiality of the same and discusses it in public perhaps in a court of law (Annabelle, 2017). Since I am an attorney appointed by the court, I am dealing with my client as an actual client and not a potential client even though the law also recognizes the validity of confidentiality of the information sharing between a prospective client and an attorney.

The information about the disappearance of the child as it has appeared in the dailies is not classified as a present crime but past crime. Discussions revolving around these past acts are subject to the attorney-client privilege (Annabelle, 2017). In my capacity as an attorney, I am barred from divulging such information about a client's past misbehavior to any other person ("Rule 502: Attorney-Client Privilege and Work Product; Limitations on Waiver," 2011). I will only take responsibility to share the sensitive information to the courts and the authorities if it is meant to protect the sanctity of life. The client is not planning to commit any other act of fraud and crime in the future; therefore it is not necessary to share the information from the communication with the client.

As an attorney, revealing the information that was divulged to me by a client is a direct contravention of the principle of confidentiality. In each jurisdiction, Rule ABA Model is definite that an attorney-client relationship code does not permit any revelation of the information regarding representation of the client without their informed consent ("Attorney-Client Privilege - General Counsel - Wayne State University"). The essence of these deterrent regulations is to bolster trust that is the pillar of trust that defines the attorney-client relationship.

According to the Federal Rules of Evidence 502 (b), divulging the information that is not intended to be shared with a third party is a breach of the law. The rule of inadvertent disclosure protects the client ("Rule 502: Attorney-Client Privilege and Work Product; Limitations on Waiver," 2011). The waiver is categorized as unintentional on the part of the client who is the holder of privilege in this case. Since the client is interested in keeping the information as secretive as possible, they will almost certainly make discernible steps to prevent possible attempts of the disclosure (Van & San Fernando Valley Bar Association, 2016). By insisting that I have to disclose the information that is recognized by the law as confidential, I am not only putting my bar license into jeopardy; I am also compromising the integrity of the law profession as a whole.

The controlling effect of a party agreement under Rule 502 (e) is precise on the limits of agreement on the effect of disclosure. My agreement with the client on the effect of disclosure in a federal proceeding is binding only to the two us, attorney and the client, unless it is incorporated into a court order which is not the case in this issue ("Rule 502: Attorney-Client Privilege and Work Product; Limitations on Waiver," 2011). Any attempt to handle the secret information by doing anything that puts the interest of the client at the receiving end is an act of bad faith in the field of legal practice.

I also understand that as a lawyer, my calling is to protect the sanctity of justice is supreme to my advocacy duties. I am supposed to answer my obligation to protect the discourse of justice by not being an accomplice to crimes ("Attorney-Client Privilege - General Counsel - Wayne State University"). However, it is my responsibility to explain to the client the implications of disclosing vital information. I must own up and protect the confidentiality of information that threatens the legal protection of the client.

Conclusion

It should be understood that the decision to desist from disclosing the sensitive information about the client is neither to protect their interest nor to act as an accomplice to crime on my part as an attorney. The inspiration to narrow down to my decision to obey my ethical duty to protect client confidentiality is the respect for the procedure of the law. I am aware of my patriotic duty as a citizen and my professional responsibility as a custodian of the law to help the jurisprudence to gather evidence concerning crimes and administer justice. My obligation to protect confidentiality is not reinforced by the fear of being stripped of my bar admission license but by my fidelity to the code of conduct in defending the attorney-client privilege.

References

Annabelle, M. (2017). Part 1 Comparative Overview of Concepts of Attorney-Client Privilege, 2 United States of America. Attorney-Client Privilege in International Arbitration. doi:10.1093/law/9780198795865.003.0002

Attorney-Client Privilege - General Counsel - Wayne State University. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://generalcounsel.wayne.edu/legal/attorney-privilege

Rule 502. Attorney-Client Privilege and Work Product; Limitations on Waiver. (2011, December 1). Retrieved from https://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/fre/rule_502

Van, B. N., & San Fernando Valley Bar Association. (2016). Attorney-client privilege.