LPC wrote:There are several exceptions to attorney-client privilege, one of which is "to establish a claim or defense on behalf of the lawyer in a controversy between the lawyer and the client, to establish a defense to a criminal charge or civil claim against the lawyer based upon conduct in which the client was involved, or to respond to allegations in any proceeding concerning the lawyer's representation of the client." (ABA Model Rule of Professional Conduct 1.6(b)(5).)
I believe that all of those exceptions apply to legal proceedings, but not media proceedings, so that defending yourself against trash-talk in the press is not included in the exception.
Which is a convoluted way of saying that the Two Bobs cannot trash their client publicly just because the client has chosen to trash them.
(Even if either trashing would be truthful and justified.)
Apparently, not everyone sees it this way. From TaxProf Blog (1/30/09):
http://taxprof.typepad.com/
Tax Lawyer Strikes Back at "Girls Gone Wild" Founder Joe Francis
Yesterday I blogged the brouhaha over the decision by Joe Francis, founder of the Girls Gone Wild video series, to fire yet another tax lawyer in his tax evasion case -- calling The Bernhoft Law Firm "the Paris Hilton of lawyers -- just to be famous, not to do anything." The American Lawyer reports today that the lawyers fired back in a three-page declaration filed on Thursday before U.S. District Court Judge S. James Otero in Los Angeles:
Counsel and Mr. Francis have reached an irreconcilable conflict concerning issues that, at the time, were reposed within the attorney-client privilege. As a result of this irreconcilable conflict, counsel was obligated to inform Mr. Francis on November 18, 2008, of the necessity of terminating the legal relationship and withdrawing as counsel of record from the case.
Thereafter, via email transmission, Mr. Francis communicated one of several threats to counsel that if counsel did not perform certain acts: “As for a practice in LA. It is highly unlikely if you piss me off. I KNOW EVERYONE AND THEY WILL DO WHAT I SAY!” Counsel has previously withheld this information out of an overabundance of caution and to protect Mr. Francis’ interests. However, Mr. Francis recently waived the privilege as to some communications with Mr. Francis’ recent public statements to the press.
The full declaration:
http://amlawdaily.typepad.com/files/bar ... ration.pdf