道德意见374
关于潜在客户信息的道德义务
介绍
规则1规定了澳门赌场官网对潜在客户的道德义务.第18条D.C. 《澳门赌场官方软件》(以下简称《澳门赌场官网》).C. 规则”).1 从表面上看，规则1.第18条只规定了澳门赌场官网的两项义务. 首先，不管客户-澳门赌场官网关系是否建立，规则1.第18(b)条禁止“与潜在客户进行过讨论的澳门赌场官网”“向我们[透露]或透露[透露]在咨询中了解到的信息”, 规则1允许的情况除外.6.“因为”有保密的义务 . . . 澳门赌场官网同意时附加考虑是否建立客户-澳门赌场官网关系,澳门赌场官网在规则1下的义务.6也延伸到与潜在客户咨询有关的信息- e.g., 关于澳门赌场官网对潜在客户或事件的心理印象的注释, 法律研究, (三)后续调查获得的其他情况.2 第二，规则1.18(c) and (d) prohibit a lawyer from "represent[ing] a client with interests materially adverse to those of a prospective client in the same or a substantially related matter if the lawyer received a confidence or secret from the prospective client,除非受影响的客户和潜在客户都已知情同意.3
如果潜在客户选择不接受澳门赌场官网的服务, 或者澳门赌场官网不愿意或不能代表潜在客户, 还有两个问题. 第一个, 什么道德义务, 如果有任何, 澳门赌场官网是否必须保存澳门赌场官网在咨询潜在客户时了解到的信息或与咨询有关的其他信息? 第二个, 什么道德义务, 如果有任何, 澳门赌场官网是否必须将这些信息转交给潜在客户, 要么在澳门赌场官网和/或潜在客户决定不建立客户-澳门赌场官网关系的时候，要么在那之后?4
直到最终决定是否建立客户-澳门赌场官网关系为止, 根据规则1，澳门赌场官网有义务.18和1.保护财产, 包括无形财产, 由潜在客户委托给澳门赌场官网的. 例如, 除了有形财产, a prospective client may entrust a lawyer with certain intellectual property during a prospective client consultation that the lawyer must safeguard while evaluating whether to represent the prospective client. 一旦最终决定不建立客户-澳门赌场官网关系，规则1.18和1.15 .要求澳门赌场官网将这些财产归还给潜在客户或按照潜在客户的指示处理. 在没有任何实质性法律或合同义务的情况下这样做, 然而, the lawyer has no obligation to preserve or turn over to a prospective client information learned in or relating to a prospective client consultation—including the lawyer's notes or other research or information that the lawyer generates or obtains—in which the prospective client has no property interest.5, 6
适用的规则
•规则1.6(信息保密)
•规则1.7(利益冲突:一般)
•规则1.15(物业保管)
•规则1.16(拒绝或终止代表)
•规则1.18(对潜在客户的责任)
•规则8.4(行为)
讨论
澳门赌场官网可以从初次咨询中获得潜在客户的信息, 随后的调查，以确定澳门赌场官网是否愿意和能够代表潜在客户, 或两个. 如规则1的注释.18解释道:
It is often necessary for a prospective client to reveal information to the lawyer during an initial consultation prior to the decision about formation of a client-lawyer relationship. 作为决定客户是否希望建立客户-澳门赌场官网关系的过程的一部分，客户可以披露这些信息. The lawyer often must learn such information to determine whether there is a conflict of interest with an existing client and whether the matter is one that the lawyer is willing to undertake. . . .7
除了, 在建立客户-澳门赌场官网关系之前，澳门赌场官网可能想调查潜在客户的索赔或进行初步的法律研究. 规则1.6和1.第18条要求澳门赌场官网保护潜在客户的机密和秘密，其程度与澳门赌场官网必须保护客户的机密和秘密的程度相同.8
根据规则1.18(c), a lawyer or other lawyers in the lawyer's law firm may be prohibited from representing a client based on information that a prospective client has disclosed in a consultation.9 尽量减少不合格的风险, “澳门赌场官网在考虑是否接受一项新事务时，可将初次面谈限于不构成保密或秘密的资料, 如果澳门赌场官网可以这样做，并且仍然确定是否存在利益冲突或其他不存在代理的原因."10 除了, "[a] lawyer may condition conversations with a prospective client on the person's informed consent that no information disclosed during the consultation will prohibit the lawyer from representing a different client in the matter."11 A lawyer and prospective client also may enter into an agreement in which the prospective client consents to the lawyer's subsequent disclosure and use of information learned in or related to the prospective client consultation.12
潜在客户将贵重物品或文件委托给澳门赌场官网保管,规则1的注释.第18条指示澳门赌场官网遵循规则1.15.13 规则1.第15(a)条要求澳门赌场官网“持有……的财产” . . . third persons that is in the lawyer's possession in connection with a representation separate from the lawyer's own property" and to identify and safeguard such property.14 规则1.第15(c)条一般要求澳门赌场官网“及时交付”和, 要求, 向潜在客户“提供有关此类财产的完整账目”.15 然而，按照规则1的规定.第15条不要求澳门赌场官网保存或移交由澳门赌场官网生成或根据澳门赌场官网指示生成的文件或其他信息，包括笔记, 法律研究, 或通过后续调查获得的信息，除非潜在客户对这些信息有财产利益.16
当潜在客户选择不接受澳门赌场官网的服务时, 或者澳门赌场官网不愿意或不能代表潜在客户, D.C. 规则 impose no obligation on the lawyer to preserve information learned in or related to the prospective client consultation in which a prospective client has no property interest. 同样，澳门赌场官网也没有D.C. 给潜在客户的规则, 要么在澳门赌场官网和/或潜在客户决定不建立客户-澳门赌场官网关系的时候，要么在那之后, 咨询:在潜在客户咨询中获得的或与之相关的信息.
规则1.16(d)要求澳门赌场官网, 与任何代理终止有关, “在合理可行的范围内及时采取措施，以保护客户的利益, 如 . . . 交出委托人有权拥有的文件和财产."潜在客户选择不接受澳门赌场官网服务或者澳门赌场官网不愿意或不能代表潜在客户, 然而, 潜在客户不是“客户”，也没有终止代理的权利. 因此，规则1.16(d)不适用.
结论
如规则1的注释.第18条指出，“潜在客户应该得到部分但不是全部的客户保护."17 因此, although a lawyer must safeguard and return documents or other property entrusted to the lawyer by a prospective client while evaluating whether to form a client-lawyer relationship, 没有实质性法律或合同义务这样做的, 根据D.C. 保留或向潜在客户移交在潜在客户咨询中了解到的或与之相关的信息的规则, 当客户-澳门赌场官网关系未建立时.18
2018年4月发布
1. “潜在客户”是指“与澳门赌场官网讨论就某一事项建立客户-澳门赌场官网关系的可能性的人”." D.C. R. 教授行为1.18(a). 如规则1的注释.18解释说, 然而, “单方面向澳门赌场官网传达信息的人, 没有任何合理的期望澳门赌场官网愿意讨论建立客户-澳门赌场官网关系的可能性, 不是“潜在客户” . . . ." D.C. R. 教授行为1.18 cmt. [3].
2. 看到维.C. R. 教授行为1.6 cmt. [9] ("Although most of the duties flowing from the client-lawyer relationship attach only after the client has requested the lawyer to render legal services and the lawyer has agreed to do so, 当澳门赌场官网同意考虑是否建立客户-澳门赌场官网关系时，本条规定的保密义务即随之生效.").
3. 如果澳门赌场官网根据规则1被取消代表委托人的资格.18(c), “与该澳门赌场官网有关联的澳门赌场官网事务所的任何澳门赌场官网不得在知情的情况下承担或继续在此类事项中担任代理,“除非”(1)受影响的客户和潜在客户均已给予知情同意, 或者(二)及时筛选不合格澳门赌场官网不参与该事项的." D.C. R. 教授行为1.18(c) &(d).
4. The questions whether and at what point a lawyer and prospective client form a client-lawyer relationship are matters of substantive law beyond the scope of this opinion. 当这种关系形成时, 然而, 澳门赌场官网保存和向客户提供信息的道德义务受规则1的约束.16(d)和1.8(i). 看到维.C. 法律伦理课. 333 (2005).
5. The questions whether and to what extent a prospective client may have a property or other substantive legal interest in such information are beyond the scope of this opinion, 《澳门赌场官网》以外的任何实质性法律义务是否禁止销毁资料的问题也是如此. 虽然本委员会不就《澳门赌场官网》以外的法律问题发表意见, we are unaware of any authority holding that a prospective client has a property interest in a lawyer's notes or other research or information that the lawyer generates or obtains as the result of a prospective client consultation.
6. 我们注意到，“澳门赌场官网对客户的道德义务不是来自任何合同，而是来自澳门赌场官网与客户之间建立的信托关系。.《澳门赌场官方软件》，公元670年.2d 375, 379 (D.C. 1996). 因此, 澳门赌场官网和潜在客户决定建立客户-澳门赌场官网关系的地方, 澳门赌场官网必须满足D项的要求.C. 规则1.16(d)和1.无论是否有任何合同协议. Cf. id. 第380页(“因为道德责任独立于合同权利和义务而存在, 我们认为任何所谓的客户未能履行聘用协议的行为都不能作为纪律指控的辩护理由.").
7. D.C. R. 教授行为1.18 cmt. [3].
8. 看到维.C. R. 教授行为1.6 cmt. [9] ("Although most of the duties flowing from the client-lawyer relationship attach only after the client has requested the lawyer to render legal services and the lawyer has agreed to do so, 当澳门赌场官网同意考虑是否建立客户-澳门赌场官网关系时，本条规定的保密义务即随之生效. . . .");D.C. R. 教授行为1.18(b) & cmt. [3]“即使没有客户-澳门赌场官网关系, 澳门赌场官网在与潜在委托人进行磋商后，不得使用或泄露在磋商中了解到的信息, 规则1允许的情况除外.6. . . . 此类信息一般受规则1保护.即使委托人或澳门赌场官网决定不继续代理. . . . 无论最初的会议有多短暂，保护机密和秘密的责任都是存在的. . . .").
9. 看到维.C. R. 教授行为1.18(c) ("A lawyer subject to paragraph (b) shall not represent a client with interests materially adverse to those of a prospective client in the same or a substantially related matter if the lawyer received a confidence or secret from the prospective client, (d)段另有规定的除外. 澳门赌场官网依本款被取消代理资格者, 与该澳门赌场官网有关联的澳门赌场官网事务所的任何澳门赌场官网不得在知情的情况下承担或继续代理此类事项, (d)段另有规定的除外.").
10. 看到维.C. R. 教授行为1.18 (c) & cmt. [4].
11. Id. 在cmt. [5].
12. 看到id. (“潜在客户也可以同意澳门赌场官网随后使用从潜在客户那里收到的信息.").
13. D.C. R. 教授行为1.18 cmt. [9]“当潜在客户将贵重物品或文件委托给澳门赌场官网保管时，澳门赌场官网的职责, 见规则1.15.").
14. 看到维.C. R. 教授行为1.15(a) ("A lawyer shall hold property of clients or third persons that is in the lawyer's possession in connection with a representation separate from the lawyer's own property. Funds of clients or third persons that are in the lawyer's possession (trust funds) shall be kept in one or more trust accounts maintained in accordance with paragraph (b). 其他财产也应予以标识并予以适当保护. Complete records of such account funds and other property shall be kept by the lawyer and shall be preserved for a period of five years after termination of the representation.").
15. 看到维.C. R. 教授行为1.15(c)(“除非本规则另有规定，或法律或与客户的协议另有允许, 澳门赌场官网应当及时向委托人或者第三人交付委托人或者第三人有权收受的款项或者其他财产, 应客户或第三方要求, 应立即就该等财产作出全面核算, 受规则1约束.6.").
16. 澳门赌场官网未能保护或归还潜在客户委托给澳门赌场官网的文件或其他财产也可能涉及规则8.4(b)及(c). 看到维.C. R. 教授行为8.4(b) &(c)“澳门赌场官网……是职业上的不端行为 . . . [c]犯了对澳门赌场官网的诚实不利的犯罪行为, 诚信, or fitness as a lawyer in other respects; [or] [e]ngage in conduct involving dishonesty, 欺诈, 欺骗, 或歪曲.").
17. D.C. R. 教授行为1.18 cmt. [1].
18. 出于各种原因，澳门赌场官网可能会选择保留在潜在客户咨询中了解到的或与之相关的信息:例如, to assist the lawyer in detecting and avoiding future conflicts of interest; to defend against allegations that the lawyer violated 规则1.6和/或1.18; or merely to maintain a positive relationship with prospective clients who later may need the information. 如果澳门赌场官网选择这么做的话, 或者交出这些保存下来的信息, 然而, the lawyer should be mindful of any potential conflicts of interest that may arise if the lawyer's possession or subsequent disclosure of the information could be detrimental to a current client. 看到维.C. R. 教授行为1.7(b)(4)(“下文(c)段允许的情况除外, 澳门赌场官网不得就下列事项代表委托人 . . . [t]he lawyer's professional judgment on behalf of the client will be or reasonably may be adversely affected by the lawyer's responsibilities to or interests in a third party . . . ."). 此外，如上文第n段所述.5, the question of whether any substantive legal obligation outside the 职业行为准则 prohibits destruction of prospective client information is beyond the scope of this opinion.
