Client confidentiality—to disclose or not disclose?

• Client confidentiality has been viewed by the profession as absolute with very limited exceptions. Unless there is an obvious and clear basis to disclose then confidentiality must be preserved.
• While this approach provides the profession with clarity, is it correct? Should the public interest play a bigger role?

When it comes to client confidentiality, does the profession draw the line in the right place?

Historically, the paramountcy of client confidentiality, to the exclusion of all else, has been instilled in us from the early days of our legal careers. We think, it’s fair to say, that many of us faced with a request to disclose would instinctively formulate a response that erred on the side of caution and favoured non-disclosure. Has the historic position coupled with the severe consequences of breaching client confidentiality led us down a path where we now simply accept this as the position, rather than truly analysing where the line should properly