header-logo header-logo

NLJ this week: Client confessions & other client confidentiality dilemmas

13 October 2023
Issue: 8044 / Categories: Legal News , Regulatory , Profession
printer mail-detail
142608
Client confidentiality is generally seen as absolute with very limited exceptions, but tough ethical dilemmas can still arise, as Iain Miller, partner, & Charlotte Judd, senior associate, Kingsley Napley discuss in this week’s NLJ, complete with some alarming examples

What if the client tells you in confidence they have murdered two victims and buried their bodies? The crime has already been committed and is not related to the advice they are seeking from you now.

Or—this is a real-life example from the US, so readers can compare what they would have done with what actually happened—what if the client confesses they committed a crime for which someone else is currently serving time in prison? 

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Birketts—trainee cohort

Birketts—trainee cohort

Firm welcomes new cohort of 29 trainee solicitors for 2025

Keoghs—four appointments

Keoghs—four appointments

Four partner hires expand legal expertise in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Real estate team in Yorkshire welcomes new partner

NEWS
Robert Taylor of 360 Law Services warns in this week's NLJ that adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) risks entrenching disadvantage for SME law firms, unless tools are tailored to their needs
The Court of Protection has ruled in Macpherson v Sunderland City Council that capacity must be presumed unless clearly rebutted. In this week's NLJ, Sam Karim KC and Sophie Hurst of Kings Chambers dissect the judgment and set out practical guidance for advisers faced with issues relating to retrospective capacity and/or assessments without an examination
Delays and dysfunction continue to mount in the county court, as revealed in a scathing Justice Committee report and under discussion this week by NLJ columnist Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School. Bulk claims—especially from private parking firms—are overwhelming the system, with 8,000 cases filed weekly
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
From oligarchs to cosmetic clinics, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) target journalists, activists and ordinary citizens with intimidating legal tactics. Writing in NLJ this week, Sadie Whittam of Lancaster University explores the weaponisation of litigation to silence critics
back-to-top-scroll