In practice, in order to understand the facts of the case, lawyers inevitably need to understand a large amount of materials, information and evidence from their clients. Some of these contents are customer privacy, some are trade secrets, and some are not privacy or trade secrets, which will have an adverse impact on their customers. Lawyers have a duty to maintain confidentiality for their clients.
A lawyer's confidentiality obligation is determined by the nature of his profession, the lawyer's legal obligations and the contractual obligations of the attorney. Even if there is no confidentiality obligation in the contract, it does not exempt the lawyer from the confidentiality obligation. Of course, if the client authorizes the lawyer to disclose relevant information, the lawyer is allowed to disclose any privacy or business secrets without exceeding his authority. If a lawyer violates his confidentiality obligations and causes reputational damage or economic losses to his client, he shall be liable for compensation.
Confidentiality rules that lawyers should abide by
Confidentiality of client secrets. In the process of contacting clients and handling cases, lawyers will obtain a lot of sensitive and confidential information, including the client's personal background, case details, financial information, etc. It is the attorney's responsibility to ensure the confidentiality of this information. Lawyers clearly stipulate in their professional ethics that they have an obligation to keep confidential information of their clients confidential.
The agent entrusts the confidentiality of secrets. In addition to client confidentiality, attorneys also need to protect client confidential information. During the representation process, the lawyer will obtain a series of information related to the case, which also needs to be kept confidential.
Constraints of professional ethics. As a practicing lawyer, the constraints of personal professional ethics are also an important factor in ensuring confidentiality protection. Attorneys should always exercise honesty, diligence, and care and should not misuse or disclose confidential information.