- published: 15 Jan 2015
- views: 3877
Confidentiality is an ethical principle associated with several professions (e.g., medicine, law, psychotherapy). In ethics, and (in some places) in law and alternative forms of legal resolution such as mediation, some types of communication between a person and one of these professionals are "privileged" and may not be discussed or divulged to third parties.
Confidentiality of information, enforced in an adaptation of the military's classic "need to know" principle, forms the cornerstone of information security in today's corporations. The so called 'confidentiality bubble' restricts information flows, with both positive and negative consequences.
Lawyers are often required by law to keep confidential anything pertaining to the representation of a client. The duty of confidentiality is much broader than the attorney-client evidentiary privilege, which only covers communications between the attorney and the client.
Both the privilege and the duty serve the purpose of encouraging clients to speak frankly about their cases. This way, lawyers will be able to carry out their duty to provide clients with zealous representation. Otherwise, the opposing side may be able to surprise the lawyer in court with something which he did not know about his client, which may weaken the client's position. Also, a distrustful client might hide a relevant fact which he thinks is incriminating, but which a skilled lawyer could turn to the client's advantage (for example, by raising affirmative defenses like self-defense).