Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE)Client ConfidentialityMedium
A lawyer represents a pharmaceutical company in litigation. The lawyer's assistant, while working on the case files, accidentally leaves a physical file containing highly sensitive client information on a public park bench. The file is later found by a passerby and returned to the lawyer's office, unopened. What is the lawyer's primary ethical obligation regarding this incident?
- AThe lawyer must terminate the assistant's employment for negligence.
- BThe lawyer must immediately report the incident to the appropriate ethics committee.
- CThe lawyer must notify the client of the inadvertent disclosure, even if no harm occurred.
- DThe lawyer has no further obligation since the file was returned unopened and no harm resulted.
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: C. The lawyer must notify the client of the inadvertent disclosure, even if no harm occurred.
Lawyers have an ethical duty to take reasonable precautions to prevent inadvertent disclosure of client information. If such a disclosure occurs, even without apparent harm, the lawyer typically has an obligation to notify the client about the breach of confidentiality.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. While the assistant's conduct is problematic, terminating employment is not the primary ethical obligation regarding client confidentiality in this scenario.
- B. Reporting to an ethics committee is generally for disciplinary issues, not typically for every inadvertent disclosure, especially if no harm occurred.
- D. Even without harm, the underlying breach of the duty to protect confidentiality requires client notification.
Inadvertent Disclosure
An accidental revelation of confidential client information, often due to negligence or error, which still triggers a lawyer's ethical duties.
- Lawyers must take reasonable precautions to prevent it.
- Client notification is often required.
- Even if no actual harm, the breach can have ethical implications.
Memory trick: Accidental slips still mean Client must Know.