What ethical considerations are important for a litigator?
important for a litigator
As a litigator, you are often tasked with finding the best way to protect client confidential information in the context of litigation. This requires that you know how to preserve the attorney-client privilege in addition to complying with the rules governing confidentiality, including state rules of professional conduct. You also need to be aware of e-discovery and litigation holds, social media and digital security.
As an expert, you are also a client’s agent and may have contractual obligations regarding the use of information that is privileged. You have a duty to preserve that confidential information and you should never disclose it in a manner that is contrary to your client’s interests.
You should always exercise extreme care in handling confidential information, particularly if it is a matter of public record. This includes information that is embarrassing to your client, even if it was uncovered in the course of work on the case and disclosed through discovery.
What ethical considerations are important for a litigator?
In addition, you should not divulge confidential information that you obtained in the course of a case to a person outside the case. This is especially true of experts who have obtained such information in the course of work for a client.
Your clients expect you to act on their behalf in a manner that is honest and fair, not based upon your personal opinions about the case. If you do not follow this standard, your professional reputation and the integrity of the courtroom will be negatively affected.
Whether you are a lawyer or an expert, you have an ethical responsibility to zealously represent your client. This means that you must “zealously” guard the truth in your testimony and analysis of the evidence.
The ABA Canon of Ethics EC 7-1 states that lawyers should not “knowingly or willfully falsify, omit, alter, or fail to report inconsistencies in evidence or information.” In this regard, you should be careful not to change your opinion about the facts after you have completed your investigation. You should also be wary of attorneys who pressure you to skew your findings in favor of their client.
If you do change your opinion, you should tell the attorney that you cannot make any changes in the original opinion unless the attorney agrees to it and allows you to do so. If an attorney does not agree to the change, you should not continue to represent your client in the case.
You should also be cautious when accepting new assignments as you may have commitments to a prior employer that conflict with a new assignment. For example, if you are an environmental scientist and agree to testify in a case involving a pollution problem, you must consider the potential for your prior job duties and confidential commitments to come into conflict with your new one.
You should also be a vigilant watchdog over the conduct of your fellow expert witnesses. If you see any conflicts, you should immediately report the situation to your supervisors and the court. This may prevent a judge or jury from relying on faulty or untrue testimony. It is also important to make sure that all the parties involved in a case are fully informed about the legal and ethical requirements of your profession, so that everyone can work together as a team to get the case resolved.