道德意见350
澳门赌场官网是否有义务向通过前客户的事实虚假陈述获得的前客户工作成果投降
A lawyer who drafted a brief 和 affidavit in reliance upon fraudulent factual misrepresentations made by a former client has no duty under 规则1.16(d)将这些文件交给客户. 规则1.第2条禁止澳门赌场官网协助当事人进行明知是欺诈的行为. 这种行为包括协助客户起草或交付澳门赌场官网明知是欺诈性的文件. 澳门赌场官网可以:(1)在实际可行且有效的情况下, redact all portions of the documents containing misrepresentations 和 surrender to the client only the redacted documents; (2) if redaction is impractical or ineffective, refuse to produce the entire document to the client; 或(3)如果客户同意或规则1.6(d)适用, turn over the unredacted document(s) to the former client’s successor counsel with full disclosure as to the fraud contained in the document(s). The lawyer should also write the client dem和ing the immediate destruction or return of all prior drafts of documents containing the misrepresentations 和 directing the client not to file such documents with the court.
适用的规则
- 1.0(f)(术语的定义)
- 1.2(e)(协助客户的不法行为)
- 1.6 (d)(保密)
- 1.16(d)(终止代理)
- 3.3(a)(向审裁处坦白)
调查
在起草了一份摘要和宣誓书，其中包括客户声称的各种重要事实陈述之后, 一名澳门赌场官网发现那些陈述是虚假的, 拒绝向法院提交此类欺诈性文件, 澳门赌场官网退出了代理. 前委托人现在要求澳门赌场官网交出这些文件, 但澳门赌场官网有理由相信, 虽然不是真正的知识, 前委托人打算提交案情摘要和宣誓书以推进案件. 在澳门赌场官网终止代理时，委托人不欠澳门赌场官网任何未付的法律费用.
讨论
根据规则1.16(d):
与任何代理终止有关, 澳门赌场官网应当在合理可行的范围内及时采取措施保护委托人的利益, 比如交出文件和财产 客户有权得到的. . . .1
法律道德委员会一直认为根据哥伦比亚特区职业行为准则, 整个文件属于客户，在代理终止时必须交给客户, 除非委托人另有同意或除非规则1允许澳门赌场官网.(i)保留未支付的澳门赌场官网工作成果.2 在此介绍委员会的情况, 然而, with the narrow question of whether a former client is entitled to a lawyer’s work product containing fraudulent misrepresentations or omissions. 我们的结论是他不是.
澳门赌场官网在交出文件前消除虚假陈述的义务是根据规则1产生的.2(e), 这条法律禁止澳门赌场官网在明知是犯罪或欺诈的情况下协助客户.特别有启发性的是评论[7], 其中规定“澳门赌场官网必须避免协助委托人”, 例如, 通过起草或交付澳门赌场官网知道是欺诈的文件.”
另外，规则3.第3(a)(1)条禁止澳门赌场官网故意 向法庭对事实或法律作虚假陈述…….第3(a)(2)条禁止澳门赌场官网“明知 . . . 协助[委托人]从事澳门赌场官网所不能从事的行为 知道 is criminal or fraudulent …” (emphasis added); 和 Rule 3.第3(a)(4)条禁止澳门赌场官网“提供明知是虚假的证据”.” We conclude that a lawyer who 知道 that the former client’s representations are false 和 has good reason to believe that the former client (whether through another lawyer or 箴se)拟提交包含该等虚假陈述的摘要及誓章将违反规则3.将该等文件交给前客户.3
与其拒绝向前委托人出示全部文件，澳门赌场官网可以, 在可行和有效的情况下, opt to redact all factual misrepresentations of which he 知道-- 和 all legal analysis 和 discussion which rely upon or incorporate such misrepresentations -- 和 surrender only such redacted affidavit 和 brief. 有效的删节是指澳门赌场官网删减了足够的材料, 必要时包括上下文, such that the client cannot simply re-insert the fraudulent facts or misrepresentations 和 file the brief essentially unchanged from its original fraudulent form.4
Even where a lawyer acts with utmost diligence to either withhold the entire document or surrender only a carefully redacted version to the client, 尽管如此，前客户仍有可能利用澳门赌场官网过去的服务对法庭实施欺诈. 出于这个原因, the lawyer should also transmit a letter to the former client dem和ing that the former client immediately destroy or return all prior drafts of documents containing or making use of the misrepresentations 和 directing the client not to file the brief 和 affidavit, 或其较早的草稿.5
In the event that the former client attempts to perpetrate a fraud upon the tribunal by filing the fraudulently obtained documents or by forwarding the documents to successor counsel for use on the client’s behalf, 和 如果有理由确定前客户的欺诈行为会对他人的经济利益或财产造成实质性损害, 然后规则1.6(d)允许原澳门赌场官网向继任澳门赌场官网或法庭披露欺诈行为, 不管客户是否同意. 具体来说，规则1.6 (d)提供:
当客户使用或正在使用澳门赌场官网的服务来进一步犯罪或欺诈时, 澳门赌场官网可以泄露委托人的秘密, 在合理必要的范围内:
- 为了防止 the client from committing the crime or fraud if it is reasonably certain to result in substantial injury to the financial interests or property of another; or
- 为了防止, 减轻, or rectify substantial injury to the financial interests or property of another that is reasonably certain to result or has resulted from the client’s commission of the crime or fraud.
像这样, 允许披露, 而不是强制性的, in those circumstances where substantial injury to a third party’s financial interests or property is reasonably certain to result from the former client’s fraud, 根据本规则所作的任何披露，必须限于为防止而有合理必要的披露, 减轻, 或者纠正实质性伤害. 或者，法律顾问可以向继任法律顾问披露欺诈行为，而不必考虑1.6(d)合理确定的实质性损害的限制因素, 如果澳门赌场官网得到前委托人的同意.
结论
规则1.16(d) does not require a lawyer to surrender to a former client a brief 和 affidavit that were fraudulently procured through the client’s factual misrepresentations. 而, 澳门赌场官网应当(1)切实可行且有效的, redact the sections of the documents containing factual 和 legal misrepresentations 和 surrender only those portions of the documents not containing misrepresentations to the former client, (2)不可行或无效的, 保留全部文件, 或(3)如果客户同意或规则1.6(d)适用, turn the unredacted document(s) over to the former client’s successor counsel with full disclosure of the fraud contained in the document(s).
出版日期:2009年10月
1. 重点补充道.
2. 见《澳门赌场官网》第250条(未付费用时，将前委托人的资料移交给新澳门赌场官网的义务).); 法律道德 Opinions 286 (Former Client Files) 和 法律道德 Opinion 333 (Surrendering Entire Client File Upon Termination Of Representation). 规则1.16(d)参考规则1.8(i), which permits a lawyer -- in very limited circumstances -- to retain his or her work product after the termination of the representation where the client failed to pay for such work product. 在这种情况下, 然而, 在澳门赌场官网终止代理时，委托人没有欠澳门赌场官网未付的法律费用.
3. 我们认识到，有“充分的理由相信”一个事实与实际了解它是不同的. 见规则1.0(f)将“明知”和“知道”定义为“实际知道有关事实”,“哪一个”可以从具体情况推断出来.”),, 在即时情况下, 澳门赌场官网对前客户打算使用有问题的工作产品缺乏实际的了解, 澳门赌场官网确实知道客户以欺诈手段获得了澳门赌场官网的工作成果. 在这种情况下, 澳门赌场官网对其委托人欺诈行为的实际了解, 连同他的合理信念，即客户打算存档文件, 要求澳门赌场官网拒绝将未修改的文件交给委托人.
4. 这是可以促进的, 例如, by “cutting 和 pasting” the documents to excise the misrepresentations or by drawing lines in indelible ink through the misrepresentations. 澳门赌场官网还应在修订后的文件中以某种清晰的方式表明，进行修订是为了防止欺诈. The Committee recognizes that distinguishing those portions of the document that the client may otherwise be entitled to receive from those that are predicated on information that is found to be fraudulent, 可能并不总是那么容易，需要一定的专业判断力. 可以说, 将剩下的部分看似真实的文件交给他, but later turn out to also contain misrepresentations may present some risk that the lawyer may be deemed liable for that information he “should have known” was false. 然而, 我们认为这样的标准过于宽泛，没有规则语言的基础. 修改文书是否有效取决于澳门赌场官网的诚信判断.
5. 澳门赌场官网会发现客户提交了一份欺诈性文件的早期草稿吗, the lawyer may reveal the client’s misrepresentations “为了防止 the client from committing the crime or fraud if it is reasonably certain to result in substantial injury to the financial interests or property of another” or “为了防止, 减轻 or rectify substantial injury to the financial interests or property of another that is reasonably certain to result or has resulted from the client’s commission of the crime or fraud.见规则1.6(d). 澳门赌场官网有义务根据规则3立即采取补救措施.3(d) to correct a fraud perpetrated upon the tribunal does not apply here because a lawyer’s obligation to remediate ends with the lawyer’s withdrawal from representation. 见规则3的注释[12].3.
