Interference With Attorney Client Relationship In Massachusetts
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The privilege “only protects communications between the attorney and the client about underlying factual information, not the facts themselves.” Attorney Gen. v. Facebook, Inc., 487 Mass. 109, 123 (2021).
This protection extends to any information exchanged during these privileged communications, encompassing not only verbal discussions but also written correspondence, emails, text messages, and other forms of communication. The privilege belongs to the client, meaning they have the authority to waive or invoke it.
The common interest or joint defense privilege is a widely used tool to shield from discovery strategic communications between separately represented parties who are united against a common adversary.
Rule 1.6 of the Massachusetts Rules of Professional Conduct provides that “a lawyer should not reveal confidential information relating to the representation of a client,” with certain exceptions. Rule 1.9(c)(2) provides that this confidentiality obligation also applies to former clients.
(d) Exceptions The attorney-client privilege does not apply to the following: (1) Furtherance of Crime or Fraud. If the services of the attorney were sought or obtained to commit or to plan to commit what the client knew or reasonably should have known was a crime or fraud; (2) Claimants Through Same Deceased Client.
In representing a client, a lawyer shall not communicate about the subject of the representation with a person the lawyer knows to be represented by another lawyer in the matter, unless the lawyer has the consent of the other lawyer or is authorized to do so by law or a court order.
One of the most frequent ethical dilemmas in legal practice is the conflict of interest. This occurs when a lawyer's duty to one client is compromised by their duty to another client, a third party, or their own interests.