Question

While representing a client, an attorney learned confidential information about the client's previous 113 marriage and divorce, which occurred many years before in another country. Before the attorney could conclude the matter, the client terminated the representation. Over the next three years, the nowformer client became a well-known celebrity, and her prior marriage and divorce received widespread public attention in that region. Very recently, the state bar journal interviewed the attorney about his career and his greatest achievements. One question pertained to the representation of the client who became a celebrity. The attorney mentioned that at the time, the client was an unknown figure and her previous marriage were family secrets. The interviewer was not well-informed about this celebrity and was surprised to hear that the individual had been married and divorced in another country. The former client had never authorized the attorney to discuss her legal matters, but the Model Rules provide a "generally known" exception to the duty of confidentiality to former clients. Would that exception apply to the attorney's disclosure of the marriage and divorce during the interview?

Answer 1

The attorney's disclosure of a former client's confidential marriage and divorce information based on a "generally known" exception is questionable, as the duty of confidentiality extends to information that is not independently made public, regardless of the client's current celebrity status.

Step-by-step explanation:

Whether the "generally known" exception to the duty of confidentiality applies to an attorney's disclosure of confidential information about a former client's marriage and divorce depends on the specifics of what is considered to be generally known.

The American Bar Association's Model Rules of Professional Conduct Rule 1.9(c) prohibits attorneys from using information relating to the representation of a former client to the disadvantage of the former client unless the information has become generally known.

Yet, the fact that the matter has become widely discussed in the media following the client's rise to celebrity status does not necessarily mean that all aspects of the story are "generally known" in the context of the rules.

Moreover, if the information was learned during the course of the attorney-client relationship and hasn't been independently made public, the duty of confidentiality likely prohibits disclosure without express consent from the client.