Seeking truth

A solicitor discovers in an old file (or in an old client's file, it is not clear from the text which is the case) facts which indicate that he might have been negligent, and (by implication) which might have caused his client to suffer a loss.

What should he do?Most right-minded people (including members of our profession) would say that the client should be informed immediately and advised to seek advice from another solicitor.But the first thing to do, according to your Question of Ethics column (see [2001] Gazette, 14 June, 52) is to tell the insurer.

Of course, that should be done.

But why not tell the client? Why risk what the adviser refers to as professional embarrassment in the future, should the client wish to instruct the solicitor again?Does the adviser seriously think that, if the solicitor followed his advice, he would be acting in the best interests of his client ? Or is it the case that the adviser thinks that once the insurer has been informed, the solicitor is justified in concealing the truth from the client? David Froggatt, Froggatt & Co, Northampton