Law Practice and Client's Confidentiality (Other (Not Listed) Sample)

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Law Practice and Client’s Confidentiality
In most worlds’ jurisdictions, it is lawyer’s responsibility to withhold confidential information belonging to a client. The lawyer should respect and keep it confidential issues regarding client’s affairs. This law provision becomes necessary in law practice since some of the information obtained by the solicitor from a client may be confidential in nature and it should not be shared among other persons without the client’s informed consent. Since the inception of law practice, clients have been encouraged to frankly disclose their full information and the lawyers have been called upon to uphold their duty of confidentiality regarding client’s personal information. Upholding confidentiality promotes and eases solicitors work as it enables clients to freely share their confidential information with their defendants “without fear that such information” can be made available to the general public (Finlandlaw 1). Law practice that protects client’s confidential information earns public confidence, through protection of clientele human dignity. Also, confidentiality applies to criminal cases and it is justified due to prevention of tricked or forced confessions and admissions.
Generally, confidentiality is a fundamental issue as far as solicitor-client relationship is concerned. For law practice to remain an esteemed practice there is need for clients to feel confident enough to disclose all the relevant information to the lawyer without being worried that the information will be accessed by the general public. According to Queensland Law Society, the “lawyer client confidentiality exists for mutual benefit of the client and the attorney” since it becomes difficult for lawyers to advice their clients appropriately if the client conceals some vital information (1). According to the Finlandlaw, the confidentiality duty is vested to the attorney and it should be exercised to current as well as former clients and it should continue even after the death of the client.
The law provides for serious consequences for lawyers who disclose client’s information to third parties without the client’s authority or informed consent. Every attorney should uphold the duty of confidentiality, meaning that every attorney has the obligation to safeguard client’s information from intentional and accidental leak. However, under the client’s informed consent or authority, lawyers are permitted to disclose client’s information that is confidential to third parties. A lawyer who breaches confidentiality obligations and proceeds to disclose client’s information to third parties without his consent can be sued by the client for malpractice. In addition, disclosing client’s information that is confidential to third parties can lead to public loss of confidence to the particular law firm, thus getting it out of business (Queensland Law Society). Also, continued tendency by a law firm to leak client’s confidential information may force the attorney’s registration body to deregister the firm as a way of safeguarding public confidence and trust on general law practice.
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