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NLJ this week: Client confessions & other client confidentiality dilemmas

13 October 2023
Issue: 8044 / Categories: Legal News , Regulatory , Profession
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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

Hugh James—Phil Edwards

Hugh James—Phil Edwards

Serious injury teambolstered by high-profile partner hire

Freeths—Melanie Stancliffe

Freeths—Melanie Stancliffe

Firm strengthens employment team with partner hire

DAC Beachcroft—Tim Barr

DAC Beachcroft—Tim Barr

Lawyers’ liability practice strengthened with partner appointment in London

NEWS
Tech companies will be legally required to prevent material that encourages or assists serious self-harm appearing on their platforms, under Online Safety Act 2023 regulations due to come into force in the autumn
Commercial leasehold, the defence of insanity and ‘consent’ in the criminal law are among the next tranche of projects for the Law Commission
County court cases are speeding up, with the median time from claim to hearing 62 weeks for fast, intermediate and multi-track claims—5.4 weeks faster than last year
The Bar has a culture of ‘impunity’ and ‘collusive bystanding’ in which making a complaint is deemed career-ending due to a ‘cohort of untouchables’ at the top, Baroness Harriet Harman KC has found

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has secured £1.1m in its first use of an Unexplained Wealth Order (UWO)

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