Publication Date
4-1997
Document Type
Article
Abstract
This article examines the ethical tensions lawyers face when client confidentiality conflicts with the potential for environmental harm. This article focuses on Model Rule 1.6 of the Model Rules of Professional Conduct, arguing that its categorical approach to confidentiality often compels silence even when public safety is at stake. By exploring the role of attorneys as both client advocates and officers of the court, the article critiques the profession’s prioritization of the “attorney as champion” model. Using the hypothetical of a domestic environmental disaster akin to Bhopal, the article highlights the inadequacy of current ethical rules to address widespread risks arising from non-criminal but dangerous conduct. The article proposes revisions to Model Rule 1.6 to better balance the dangers of both improvident disclosure and silence, suggesting that environmental contexts reveal the need for a more flexible, socially responsive ethical framework.
Publication Title
Washington Law Review
Volume
72
Issue
2
Recommended Citation
Irma S. Russell,
Cries and Whispers: Environmental Hazards, Model Rule 1.6, and the Attorney's Conflicting Duties to Clients and Others,
72
Washington Law Review
409
(1997).
Available at:
https://irlaw.umkc.edu/faculty_works/46
Included in
Environmental Law Commons, Jurisprudence Commons, Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility Commons, Legal Profession Commons