Legal aid confidentiality

[Slabowsky]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? North Carolina

I have had multiple people come forward letting me know that my lawyers legal aid, whom I personally know, has been speaking negatively about me and my case to others outside the work place. I'm very concerned about the negative impact this may have and that it could be causing me to have poor representation. Is that even legal? What can I do if anything?

 

[quincy]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? North Carolina

I have had multiple people come forward letting me know that my lawyers legal aid, whom I personally know, has been speaking negatively about me and my case to others outside the work place. I'm very concerned about the negative impact this may have and that it could be causing me to have poor representation. Is that even legal? What can I do if anything?

By your "lawyers legal aid" do you mean an aide that works specifically with your lawyer (a staff member at the legal aid office)?

What sort of negative things have you heard has been said about you and your case? To whom is this negative information being communicated?

If the person you know at the legal aid clinic is speaking about your case to others, s/he is more than likely violating the terms of her employment at the clinic and can be disciplined, suspended or terminated.

 

[Slabowsky]

By your "lawyers legal aid" do you mean an aide that works specifically with your lawyer (a staff member at the legal aid office)?

What sort of negative things have you heard has been said about you and your case? To whom is this negative information being communicated?

If the person you know at the legal aid clinic is speaking about your case to others, s/he is more than likely violating the terms of her employment at the clinic and can be disciplined, suspended or terminated.

The individual is a legal assistant for the specific lawyer in which is representing me. The individual has told mutual friends of ours I have fabricated health issues which cause me to be hospitalized during a time frame that I had a court date. She has slandered my name and who I am as a person, at a bar of all places. She also supplied legal information about myself and my case to an outsider that called the law firm asking.

 

[quincy]

The individual is a legal assistant for the specific lawyer in which is representing me. The individual has told mutual friends of ours I have fabricated health issues which cause me to be hospitalized during a time frame that I had a court date. She has slandered my name and who I am as a person, at a bar of all places. She also supplied legal information about myself and my case to an outsider that called the law firm asking.

Okay. I think you should speak to your lawyer about his legal assistant then. And I hope you are sure of your facts before you risk harming her reputation as much as you believe she is harming yours.

Here is a link to the North Carolina State Bar's Rule 1.6 on Confidentiality of Information:
http://www.ncbar.com/rules/rules.asp?page=9

You should refer to the notes #19 and #20 on an attorney's duty to act competently to preserve confidentiality, which extends to the attorney's duty to ensure the confidentiality of material his/her assistants come into contact with as a part of their jobs.

Good luck.