DESCRIPTION
Ethical Issues When You Have a Dishonest Client
Navigate one of the most challenging scenarios in legal practice where client dishonesty tests the boundaries of attorney-client privilege, confidentiality obligations, and professional integrity. This essential program addresses the complex professional responsibility issues that arise when client conduct creates ethical dilemmas for legal counsel. Learn to balance loyalty obligations with professional standards while protecting both client interests and professional standing.
- Understand the limits of attorney-client privilege when clients engage in fraudulent or illegal conduct
- Navigate withdrawal obligations and procedures when client dishonesty prevents continued representation
- Address candor to tribunals requirements when client deception affects legal proceedings
- Balance confidentiality obligations with disclosure duties when client conduct threatens third parties
Speaker:
Thomas E. Spahn is a partner in the McLean, Virginia office of McGuireWoods, LLP, where he has a substantial practice advising clients on properly creating and preserving the attorney-client privilege and work product protections. For more than 30 years he has lectured extensively on legal ethics and professionalism and has written “The Attorney-Client Privilege and the Work Product Doctrine: A Practitioner’s Guide,” a 750 page treatise published by the Virginia Law Foundation. Mr. Spahn has served as a member of the ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility and as a member of the Virginia State Bar's Legal Ethics Committee. He received his B.A., magna cum laude, from Yale University and his J.D. from Yale Law School.
Disclaimer: All views or opinions expressed by any presenter during the course of this CLE is that of the presenter alone and not an opinion of the Oklahoma Bar Association, the employers, or affiliates of the presenters unless specifically stated. Additionally, any materials, including the legal research, are the product of the individual contributor, not the Oklahoma Bar Association. The Oklahoma Bar Association makes no warranty, express or implied, relating to the accuracy or content of these materials.