Generation J.D.

A few days ago, Gawker published “Confessions of a Therapist.” (Warning: The story, starting with the headline, covers some mature topics.) In it, the therapist talks about some of his clients in generalities and the approaches he took to help them. The therapist also talks about trends he saw between them and things he wished he would’ve done differently.

Is what the therapist did here breaking some kind of ethical code? Although the therapist’s article can be viewed as entertainment, it can also inspire hope and be used as a tool by other therapists as they look for ways to improve their own practices. Slate reports it’s not a violation of ethical code for a therapist to talk about his or her patients as long as the patient’s identity remains hidden.

Even though the therapist adhered to the code of ethics and concealed the identity of his clients, his (or her) actions still raised eyebrows and questions related to confidentiality. I didn’t think anything of it while reading the article, but apparently some people thought the clients could still be identified by such generalized descriptions.

For lawyers, of course, the line is a bit clearer. They must adhere to a strict code of confidentiality when it comes to information about their clients. They can only talk about or publicize information about their clients if their client has given informed consent. This happens often in high-profile cases when the lawyer basically buys the rights to a client’s case/story in order to write a book or make a movie/ TV show.

But what about if a lawyer wants to do something similar to the therapist who wrote for Gawker?

I’m many years away from starting my Great American Novel, so I’m not intimately familiar with the rules, but I imagine they are similar to in the case of the therapist. How else would books like this be able to be published? I would think it could be hard to write how-to books for lawyers given the ethical constraints, but these types of books that include first-hand accounts of professionals are incredibly valuable teaching tools. It’s the next best thing to learning by doing.

I know a glimpse into a lawyer’s mind while handling a case would have been a very welcome change from the endless waves of casebooks after casebooks I read in law school. Is it possible to create more books of this genre in the legal profession? Or are the ethical constraints too stringent to allow for this tool?

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Earlier this week, I attended a Risk/Loss Prevention seminar presented by CNA, an insurance carrier that provides professional liability coverage.  Honestly, I was not looking forward to attending this four-hour tutorial that I had predetermined to be a glorified Professional Responsibility class.

It was only going to reaffirm the idea that a member of the Attorney Grievance Commission was lurking behind every corner, waiting to sanction me for not promptly replying to my client’s 10th e-mail of the day.

To my surprise, the session proved to be quite insightful.  After the jump are a few tips and pieces of information that were offered to help attorneys protect themselves. Read the rest of this entry »

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