Legal Question in Legal Ethics in California

were confidentiality ethics violated

My boyfriend is serving a 32 month prison term. The motion for appeal has been filed and is awaiting review. We felt the attorney we hired did not effectivly handle the case. My question has to do with whether or not My privacy was violated. My boyfiends father visited here a few weeks ago. We went to the prison to visit. The next day my boyfriends father contacted the attorney to discuss the case. The attorney told my boyfriends father that i used drugs. whether or not this is true is irrelevant, had no bearing on my boyfriends case or trial, and i think was not of this attorney's concern to relate this information about to anyone. My boyfriends father had not believed that i had ever done or would ever do any type of drugs. I feel that this attorney defamed my character to my boyfriends family. should i report the conduct of this attorney to anyone and do you feel he had violated my rights?


Asked on 1/18/00, 4:13 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Ken Koury Kenneth P. Koury, Esq.

Re: were confidentiality ethics violated

The attorney is not your attorney; he is your boyfriend�s attorney. He owes you nothing in the way of confidentiality. You seem to think that �whether or not this is true is irrelevant�. You are wrong. If it is untrue, you may have a defamation or slander case against the attorney. If it is true then the attorney is free to tell the whole world about your drug use and there is nothing you can do about it.

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Answered on 1/21/00, 11:15 pm


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