NH Ethics Committee

#2014-15/05 The Lawyer’s Authority to Disclose Confidential Client Information to Protect a Client from Elder Abuse or Other Threats of Substantial Bodily Harm

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Can an Attorney Disclose Confidential Client Information, Over a Client’s Objection, to Protect the Client from Elder Abuse or Other Threats of Substantial Bodily Injury?

# 2012-13/05 Social Media Contact with Witnesses in the Course of Litigation

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The Rules of Professional Conduct do not forbid use of social media to investigate a non-party witness. However, the lawyer must follow the same rules which would apply in other contexts, including the rules which impose duties of truthfulness, fairness, and respect for the rights of third parties. The lawyer must take care to understand both the value and the risk of using social media sites, as their ease of access on the internet is accompanied by a risk of unintended or misleading communications with the witness. The Committee notes a split of authority on the issue of whether a lawyer may send a social media request which discloses the lawyer’s name – but not the lawyer’s identity and role in pending litigation – to a witness who might not recognize the name and who might otherwise deny the request. The Committee finds that such a request is improper because it omits material information. The likely purpose is to deceive the witness into accepting the request and providing information which the witness would not provide if the full identity and role of the lawyer were known.

#2012-13/04 The Use of Cloud Computing in the Practice of Law

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A New Hampshire lawyer who uses cloud computing must be certain that such use complies with the Rules of Professional Conduct, including, Rule 1.8(c), 1.0(e), 1.1, 1.6, 1.15, 2.1, and 5.3.

#2011-12/07 Limitations on Client Gifts to a Lawyer

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The Committee analyzed several scenarios where a lawyer was asked by a client to benefit either the lawyer or the lawyer’s family by a present or testamentary gift. In this opinion, the Committee discussed the issues of direct gifts to the lawyer, gifts to individual related both to the testator and the lawyer, and a gift to a charitable organization for which the lawyer raised funds.

#2011-12/05 Outsourcing Legal and Non-Legal Support Services

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May a New Hampshire attorney outsource litigation support services, such as document review, to a company located overseas, on a temporary or an ongoing basis? Must that attorney notify the client of the use of these services?

#2010/11-01 Collecting Attorney’s Fees – Debt Forgiveness and Reporting to Regulating Agency

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In an attempt to collect an unpaid bill, an attorney may not (a) threaten to or actually inform the Internal Revenue Service that the attorney has written off the account receivable and considers the unpaid legal fees a debt that has been forgiven, or (b) inform a regulatory agency that a client owes unpaid fees to the attorney.