道德意见346
The Required Elements for Triggering a Duty of Confidentiality to a Prospective Client
当一名澳门赌场官网得到潜在客户的许可，与该澳门赌场官网认为可能更适合处理该案件的其他澳门赌场官网交谈时, 在与第二位澳门赌场官网的讨论中，第一位澳门赌场官网传达的任何客户信息都应被第二位澳门赌场官网视为机密，即使他从未直接与潜在客户交谈.
适用的规则:
- 规则1.6(信息保密)
- 规则1.18(对潜在客户的责任)
调查
A would-be client comes to Lawyer A to speak with her about taking on his case. 听完潜在客户的故事后, Lawyer A determines that she is not in a position to be of assistance. 然而, Lawyer A believes that a different lawyer would be better suited to meet the prospective client’s needs. 澳门赌场官网A问潜在客户是否希望她代表他给澳门赌场官网B打电话，讨论澳门赌场官网B担任代理的可能性, 潜在客户说:“是的.” Lawyer A calls Lawyer B, who works at a different firm, and explains the person’s predicament. 听了澳门赌场官网A的故事后, Lawyer B determines that he has a conflict of interest and cannot represent the person. The question is whether Lawyer B has a duty to safeguard the information that Lawyer A communicated to him.
D.C. 规则1.18, 于2007年2月生效, defines 一个澳门赌场官网’s obligations to a person with whom 一个澳门赌场官网 discusses the possibility of representation, 但谁不成为澳门赌场官网的客户呢. 这条规则承认了一类新的人, “潜在客户,” and states that “[e]ven when no client-lawyer relationship ensues, 一个澳门赌场官网 谁与潜在客户进行过讨论 shall not use or reveal information learned in the consultation, except as permitted by 规则1.6.(加重语气). The uncertainty in this inquiry arises because Lawyer B never had direct “discussions with a prospective client.他只和A澳门赌场官网谈过.
讨论
We analyze this inquiry under two alternate theories: (1) That the duty of confidentiality to would-be clients exists 在规则1中.6 and therefore is not dependent on the definition of a “prospective client” 在规则1中.18; and (2) the requirement of 一个讨论 在规则1中.18 is met because Lawyer A is an agent of the prospective client. We believe that under both theories, Lawyer B owes a duty of confidentiality.1
1. 根据规则1对潜在客户保密.6
ABA模型规则1.第18条于2002年作为美国澳门赌场官网协会道德2000项目的一部分被采纳. D.C. 规则1.18(a)，与示范规则1相同.18(a), 规定:“与澳门赌场官网讨论就某一事项建立客户-澳门赌场官网关系的可能性的人是潜在客户.“该规则的保密部分(有别于其有关利益冲突的规定)旨在编纂示范规则1规定的澳门赌场官网的现有义务.6 to a person with whom the lawyer had a preliminary consultation of some sort, 但他从未有过澳门赌场官网-客户关系.2 事实上，美国澳门赌场官网协会道德意见书编号. 90-358，在规则1通过前12年写的.18日状态:
根据示范规则1，从寻求法律代理的潜在客户那里获得的信息不得泄露或使用.6 even though the lawyer does not undertake representation of or perform work for the would-be client.
同样，对D .注释[9].C. 规则1.6 .承认D项下的这项义务.C. 规则1.6. 评论指出:
Principles of substantive law external to these 规则 determine whether a client-lawyer relationship exists. 尽管大多数从客户-澳门赌场官网关系中产生的义务只有在客户要求澳门赌场官网提供法律服务并且澳门赌场官网同意这样做之后才会生效, 当澳门赌场官网同意考虑是否建立客户-澳门赌场官网关系时，本条规定的保密义务即随之生效. Other duties of 一个澳门赌场官网 to a prospective client are set forth 在规则1中.18. (强调说.)
另请参阅 《澳门赌场官网法》第15条第三次重述.
Because the duty of confidentiality owed to persons who do not become clients exists 在规则1中.6和规则1.我们不需要完全依赖规则1的措辞.18，这需要一个人和澳门赌场官网之间的讨论. [9] D.C. 规则1.第6条明确规定，“当澳门赌场官网同意考虑是否应建立客户-澳门赌场官网关系时”，就会触发保密义务.”3
因此，委员会得出结论, that a duty of confidentiality is owed by the second lawyer under 规则1.尽管有规则1的措辞.18, 因为当第二个澳门赌场官网和第一个澳门赌场官网谈话时，他大概同意考虑客户-澳门赌场官网关系的可能性.
2. 来自客户代理的通信
另外, we assume for purposes of further analysis that the requirement of 一个讨论 with the would-be client, 如规则1所述.18(a), must be met in order for the duty of confidentiality to attach. 在这种假设下, 如果第一个澳门赌场官网在与第二个澳门赌场官网交谈时被认为是潜在客户的代理人，则该要求将得到满足.
In assessing the confidentiality of communications with clients in connection with the attorney-client privilege, courts have often recognized that clients sometimes speak to their lawyer through agents.4 这可以包括解释器, 家庭成员和商业代理, 在这种情况下, the agent is someone who the client trusts to maintain the confidentiality of the communications. This concept is recognized in the Restatement (Third) of The Law Governing Lawyers §70(f). 在那个部分下, 《澳门赌场官网》规定了在何种情况下，个人可以作为客户的代理人与澳门赌场官网交谈，并且这种沟通属于澳门赌场官网-客户特权. 该节指出:
客户端的通信代理. 如果某人的参与对于促进客户与澳门赌场官网或其他享有特权的人的沟通是合理必要的，并且如果客户有理由相信该人将对沟通保密，则该人是沟通的保密代理人. 在确定第三人是否为通信代理人时可能相关的因素包括客户与所主张的代理人之间的习惯关系, 沟通的本质, 客户需要第三人在场，以便与澳门赌场官网进行有效的沟通，或者理解澳门赌场官网的建议并按照澳门赌场官网的建议行事.
The Restatement provides three illustrations: (1) A client is arrested and barred from speaking to his counsel and so asks his friend to convey a message to his lawyer; (2) a client does not speak English and uses an interpreter to speak to the lawyer; and (3) a client uses his personal secretary to provide information to his lawyer.
In 林德赛, 158 F.3d 1263, cert. 否认, 525 U.S. 996 (1998)， D.C. 关于白宫副法律顾问布鲁斯·林赛是否作为克林顿总统的代理人与总统的私人法律顾问就总统的个人法律问题进行了交谈. 法院没有决定使用代理人作为中介是否需要“合理必要”才能保留特权，因为它发现，通过添加他自己的法律分析，Mr. 林赛不能仅仅被视为一个中间人. 在这种情况下拒绝特权, 法院的理由是，“澳门赌场官网与当事人之间的保密特权必须严格限制在符合其原则逻辑的尽可能窄的范围内”.’” Id. 1281页(引用原文 在重新密封的箱子里, 676 F.2d 793, 807 n.44 (D.C. 圆形的. 1982))(引用 关于大陪审团调查, 599 F.2d 1224,1235 (3d 圆形的. 1979)).
We believe that the intermediary principle applies to 一个澳门赌场官网’s ethical obligation of confidentiality under 规则1.第6条和规则1.18 as well, but without the same need to so strictly limit its applicability. The reason for the distinction is that in the context of attorney-client privilege, 就像任何证据特权一样, there is the important countervailing demand from a party in a legal proceeding for evidence which may be relevant. 除非适用规则1下的例外.6 (c), (d)或(e), 澳门赌场官网的保密义务, 另一方面, should be broadly interpreted in order to ensure that client expectations are met. 看到 杰弗里·C. 小风险,. 和W. 威廉•赫德 《澳门赌场官网法 §9.7 (3d版).)声明:
Because the ethical obligation of confidentiality is broader [than the attorney-client privilege], 澳门赌场官网通常应基于这样一种假设:未经客户同意，基本上不可能披露不利的客户信息.
Because the first lawyer was an agent of the prospective client, the second lawyer must treat the discussion with the first lawyer as confidential under 规则1.18.
结论
当潜在客户同意让澳门赌场官网代表他与另一位澳门赌场官网就建立澳门赌场官网-客户关系的可能性进行交谈时, 第二位澳门赌场官网根据规则1负有义务.6和1.18 .将沟通视为机密, even if the second lawyer never speaks directly with the prospective client.
Given the importance of maintaining confidentiality of any information received by the first lawyer, 明智的做法是，第一个澳门赌场官网在与第二个澳门赌场官网谈话的开始就透露，讨论的目的是考虑为某人接一个新案子, 并且在确定第二位澳门赌场官网是否存在利益冲突之前，限制对基本事实的初步披露.
出版日期:2009年2月
1. Under either theory, the substance of the duty of confidentiality is governed by 规则1.6.
2. 模型规则1中有什么实质性的新内容.18 is that 一个澳门赌场官网’s duties to prospective clients with respect to conflicts of interest are defined. 在新规定出台之前, 由法院来决定一次或多次咨询是否建立了澳门赌场官网-委托人关系，或者根本没有关系. 参见Derrickson v. 德里克森，541年.2d 149 (D.C. 1988), 在这个案件中, 在裁决取消一方澳门赌场官网资格的动议时, had to determine whether a single consultation of about one hour, taking place eight years earlier and which the lawyer contended he had no recollection of, 建立了澳门赌场官网与客户的关系. The court found no attorney-client relationship and therefore no conflict of interest.
3. Whether that formulation also triggers the conflict of interest features of 规则1.18(c)是本意见未讨论的另一个问题.
4. 更常见的情况是，非澳门赌场官网协助澳门赌场官网作为澳门赌场官网的代理人接收客户的机密通信，这也是一个相关但独立的问题, 本意见未涉及.
