§ 6:7. Protecting client confidentiality and the attorney-client privilege

Form: Confidentiality agreement for non-lawyer staff:

            Ethical Requirements and Confidential Information

    As an employee of [independent contractor to] a law firm, I am bound by the [state] [Rules of Professional Conduct or Code of Professional Responsibility] the same as a lawyer. Non-lawyers cannot be professionally disciplined for violations of ethical rules, but lawyers can, in several instances, be disciplined for the acts of their employees [contractors]. A violation of ethical rules by an employee [contractor] may also subject the firm and the employee [contractor] to significant civil liability.
    As an employee [contractor] of this law firm, I will come into contact with all kinds of information about the firm's clients and their cases and the firm. I will be exposed to client confidences and secrets (including potentially incriminating information), correspondence, legal documents, and financial data which are entrusted to the firm as the client's legal advisor or advocate. I agree that: (a) I will forever hold such information in trust and confidence; (b) I will never use such information for my own benefit or the benefit of others; (c) I will not divulge such information at any time in any form to any person not entitled to such information unless directed by the firm or by a court of competent jurisdiction, and (d) this duty continues forever, even if the client dies.
    I recognize that unauthorized use or disclosure of any information, files, or belongings of clients to any unauthorized person outside the firm violates legal ethics and can subject me to immediate discharge from my employment [contract] with the firm. In addition, unauthorized disclosure would subject me and the firm to civil liability to the client.
    I hereby certify that I have read and understand the [state] [Rules of Professional Conduct or Code of Professional Responsibility] and the Comments to each rule.
    I agree to indemnify the law firm for any civil or criminal liability that it may incur due to my unauthorized disclosure or use of confidential information.
    A breach of this agreement is grounds for immediate discharge.
_________________________________
Employee Signature
_________________________________
Date

© 2005-08

All U.S. Ethics Codes
  States
  U.S. Attorney's Manual
  28 U.S.C. § 530B
  28 C.F.R. § 77.1 et seq.
  Military
ABA Standards
Texas DP Counsel Stds
Canadian Law Society Rules
International Tribunal Rules
Other Ethics Sources
Puerto Rico
IRS Form 8300 (Eng.)
IRS From 8300 (Sp.)
26 U.S.C. § 6050I
NACDL Ethics Opinions

Research Links:
Findlaw (Legal Ethics)
Findlaw (6th Amendment)
ABA/ALI Lawyers' Manual on Professional Conduct $
Westlaw $
Lexis $
American Legal Ethics Library
ABAJournal.com/legalethics
USF Law Library Legal Ethics Research
USF Center for Applied Legal Ethics
U.Minn. Researching Legal Ethics

Defense organizations:
National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL)
National Legal Aid and Defenders Association (NLADA)
Association of Federal Defense Attorneys (AFDA)
Federal Defenders, fd.org
Capital Defense Network

Defense organizations:
National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL)
National Legal Aid and Defenders Association (NLADA)
Association of Federal Defense Attorneys (AFDA) //
   Federal Defenders, // Capital Defense Network

Law Blogs:
Alaskablawg
ambivalent imbroglio
Am. Constitutional Law Society
Anonymous Lawyer
A Public Defender
Arbitrary and Capricious
Austin Criminal Defense Lawyer
Barely Legal
Blonde Justice
Capital Defense Weekly
Crime & Federalism
CrimLaw
Criminal Appeal
CrimProf Blog
Dallas Criminal Defense Lawyer
Defending People: The Art and Science of Criminal Defense Trial Lawyering
Ernie the Attorney
Grits for Breakfast
idealawg
I'm a PD
INCourts
Indefensible
Indiana Public Defender
Injustice Anywhere
I Respectfully Dissent
Law.com
Law: The Afterlife
Lawyers, Guns & Money
Legal Blog Watch
Legal Ethics Forum
Legal Sanity
LegalTimes.com
Life at the Bar
May It Please the Court
Macando Law (P.R.)
Not Guilty No Way
Objective Justice
Obtaining Foreign Evidence
Out of the Box Lawyering
Overlawyered
PhilosophicaLawyer
Public Defender Dude
Public Defender Law Clerk
PULSE Criminal Justice
Seventh Circuit Blog
Tales of PD Investigator
TalkLeft
ThatLawyerDude
The Best Defense
Truth, Justice, Pizza
Underdog Blog
White Collar Blog
Women of the Law

Steve Dallas, Esq. 
Some Advice From Your Public Defender

"A lawyer shall represent a client zealously within the bounds of the law."
—§ 1:1, Rule 3(a) (not "should" from CPR Canon 7)

"The very premise of our adversary system of criminal justice is that partisan advocacy on both sides of a case will best promote the ultimate objective that the guilty be convicted and the innocent go free."
—Herring v. New York, 422 U.S. 853, 862 (1975)

"The right to the effective assistance of counsel is thus the right of the accused to require the prosecution's case to survive the crucible of meaningful adversarial testing. When a true adversarial criminal trial has been conducted ... the kind of testing envisioned by the Sixth Amendment has occurred. But if the process loses its character as a confrontation between adversaries, the constitutional guarantee is violated."
—United States v. Cronic, 466 U.S. 648, 655-56 (1984)

"The right to offer the testimony of witnesses, and to compel their attendance, if necessary, is in plain terms the right to present a defense, the right to present the defendant's version of the facts as well as the prosecution's to the jury so it may decide where the truth lies. Just as an accused has the right to confront the prosecution's witnesses for the purpose of challenging their testimony, he has the right to present his own witnesses to establish a defense. This right is a fundamental element of due process of law."
—Washington v. Texas, 388 U.S. 14, 19 (1967)

"[T]he Constitution guarantees criminal defendants 'a meaningful opportunity to present a complete defense.'"
—Crane v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 683, 690 (1986) (quoting California v. Trombetta, 467 U.S. 479, 485 (1984)).

“If you’ve got the right lawyer with you, we’ve got the best legal system in the world.”
— Robert Trott, “Justice,” Fox, August 30, 2006, episode 1.1