If I locate attorneys in the yellow pages, send them form
letters asking them
to consider representing me to sue somebody, and the letters
contain sensitive
information about the matter, do the attorneys have a
responsibility to keep
the information confidential? In other words, am I free to state
the facts in
the letters without worrying that an attorney may tell someone
about it? The
information in the letters is not about anything illegal, just
an allegation
about what the person did that I want to sue that pertains to
sexual activity.
This is a small town and I don't want the information being made
known. Thank
you.
In my state:
The attorney receiving that letter will have no obligation of
confidentiality unless and until an attorney- client relationship
has been established. If you send the letter without talking to
the attorney first, and if there is no attorney-client history
between you, then there is no attorney- client relationship and no
obligation of confidentiality. The attorney- client relationship
can be established later, and will be retroactive. The
relationship can be established accidently, if the attorney
doesn't properly inform you that the job is declined.
Anyway, the conventional way to handle it is to make an
appointment, go see the attorney, tell the story. In that
situation, the relationship has been established temporarilly -
long enough to get the case discussed.
Finally, every attorney I know would keep the letter confidential
regardless of whether it's legally required.
McGyver
