The notion that “anywhere can be an office” rang true through the pandemic and, for some, has led to a extra versatile strategy to working environments. But whereas the definition of “office” could also be looser, an lawyer’s moral obligations are usually not. Attorneys ought to stay further vigilant with respect to their responsibility to take care of confidentiality when discussing work in public locations.
Lawyers typically perceive the protections of the attorney-client privilege, however some fail to understand that the responsibility of confidentiality is broader. Rule 1.6 of the California Rules of Professional Conduct and Business and Profession Code part 6068, subdivision (e)(1) set forth the responsibility of attorneys “[t]o maintain inviolate the confidence, and at every peril to himself or herself to preserve the secrets, of his or her client.” That responsibility is topic to very restricted exceptions.