QUESTION OF ETHICS

Q I successfully acted in a claim against a company defendant.

During the course of acting I gained a great deal of personal knowledge about the company and the way it operates when faced with a claim.

A second client has now approached me wanting me to act for them also against the company in an identical action.

The two clients do not know one another.

A There is potential for a conflict of interest.

The information obtained whilst acting for the first client is relevant to the second client.

The solicitor cannot, however, use it or disclose it to client number two without the authority of the first client, because he would be breaching his duty of confidentiality to that client.

The solicitor would either have to obtain the second client's authority to explain the circumstances to the first client or the solicitor would have to find a way of approaching the first client without disclosing the second client's identity.

However, there is one more potential problem - if the information about the defendant was gained on disclosure (discovery) the solicitor would be subject to an implied undertaking not to use the information for any other purpose, and would thus be precluded from acting.

Aide Memoirel The Establishment of Lawyers Directive 98/5/EC was implemented in the UK on 22 May 2000.

Lawyers from other EU states who are EU nationals and established in the UK have to register with one of the UK Law Societies or Bars Lawyers already practising in the UK have until 21 November 2000 to make their applications, unless they wish to take advantage of their new rights under the Directive at an earlier date.

l Question of ethics is compiled by the Law Society's professional ethics guidance team.

Send questions intended for publication to Austin O'Malley, the Law Society, Ipsley Court, Berrington Close, Redditch B98 0TD; DX 19114 Redditch; tel: 020 7242 1222.