Duty of Confidentiality Law and Legal Definition
According to the Rules of Professional Conduct, attorneys owe a duty of confidentiality regarding the information obtained from their clients. A lawyer's ability to reveal confidential information to establish a claim or defense extends only to the extent necessary to establish a claim or defense on behalf of the lawyer in a controversy between the lawyer and the former client. Pallon v. Roggio, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 59881 (D.N.J. Aug. 23, 2006)
Duty of confidentiality is an essential element in practice of law and aids in maintaining the sanctity of the attorney client relationship. Duty of confidentiality states non-disclosure of any information shared by the client to an attorney.
