Ethics, Professional Conduct, and Client Relations
This domain tests the judgment expected of a licensee: honesty, loyalty, confidentiality, competence, conflict management, billing integrity, and respectful dealings with clients, subjects, witnesses, and opposing parties.
Core rules
- Put the engagement in writing: scope, fees, costs, billing intervals, communication expectations, and grounds for termination. Explain what you can and cannot do; never guarantee a result.
- Confidentiality: disclose case information only to the client, authorized staff, retained counsel, or as required by law. Use secure storage and transmission. Tell the client plainly when information is not legally privileged.
- Conflicts: check for prior or current representation of the adverse party, personal relationships, financial interests, and future employment. Disclose any conflict and obtain informed consent, or decline the matter.
- Truthfulness: do not use false identities, false pretenses, or unauthorized access to obtain information. Do not encourage a witness to shade testimony or offer anything of value to influence a witness.
- Billing and supervision: bill only for work actually performed and disclosed; identify and supervise subcontractors; do not split fees with unlicensed persons. Treat subjects and witnesses without harassment or discrimination.
- Termination: return client property and provide a final accounting, preserve files as required, and avoid prejudice to the client's matter.
Worked example
A defense attorney asks an investigator to interview a prosecution witness and "make sure she understands what happens to people who lie." The investigator should refuse: the instruction implies intimidation and could constitute witness tampering. She should document the request, advise the attorney that the interview will be conducted neutrally, and ask for a lawful objective in writing. If the attorney insists, she should withdraw and preserve her notes.
Traps
Accepting a second case adverse to an existing client without disclosure; billing travel time that was not authorized; using social-media "friend" requests under a fake profile; assuming public information can be used for any purpose; gossiping about cases.