A law firm was representing clients dealing with a state agency. The lawyer from the firm contacted employees of the agency to get information for potential legal cases. But the agency said all communication must go through their lawyer. This led to the adoption of Ethics Opinion 09-1, which says lawyers can’t talk directly to government employees involved in a case they’re working on. The lawyer asked for advice from The Florida Bar on whether they could talk to people at the Office of Financial Regulation (OFR) about a case they were working on. The Florida Bar said they couldn’t talk to certain people at OFR without permission from the agency’s lawyer. The lawyer didn’t agree with this and asked for the decision to be looked at again. After a lot of discussion, The Florida Bar decided that the lawyer couldn’t talk to those people at OFR after all. OFR and some other groups didn’t like this decision and tried to change it, but The Florida Bar said the decision was final. Rule 4-4.2 says lawyers can’t talk to someone who already has a lawyer, unless the lawyer gives permission. This is to protect the lawyer-client relationship. The rule also applies to government bodies and organizations. It starts as soon as the lawyer begins representing the person. In Florida, lawyers are not allowed to communicate with certain people who work for a government agency or a company if they are involved in a legal matter the lawyer is working on. This rule also applies to people in charge, like managers or directors. This is to make sure everyone involved in the case is treated fairly and without any outside influence. The rule for attorneys is that they cannot communicate with someone who is already being represented by another attorney, unless the person’s attorney gives permission. This applies to government employees too. However, if the attorney is not sure if the person is already represented, they should ask before communicating with them. It’s important for attorneys to follow this rule and not try to get around it. A lawyer cannot talk to someone who is represented by a different lawyer about the same legal issue, but they can talk to them about other things. This rule also applies to government employees. If the person being talked to has their own lawyer, the lawyer should let that lawyer know about the conversation. If the person being talked to works for a company involved in the legal matter, the lawyer should talk to the company’s general counsel instead. But there are some exceptions and the rule is not meant to stop all conversations with employees of companies or government. The scope of “permitted communications” with government entities in Florida is unique and does not include the “authorized by law” exception found in other states. This means that lawyers in Florida must be cautious when communicating about their clients’ cases with government officials, as the rules are different from those in other states. In 2002, a committee considered changing a rule about lawyers talking to people who already have a lawyer. They decided not to change the rule, but they did change the explanation of the rule. This caused a lot of debate and led to a new opinion on the rule. The new opinion says that a lawyer can talk to someone who already has a lawyer if there is a good reason. But the rule doesn’t say what a “good reason” is. Overall, the rule is meant to stop lawyers from contacting people who already have a lawyer, unless there’s a good reason. In Florida, there are specific laws that allow attorneys to talk to government officials in certain situations, like if there’s a law that protects people who report wrongdoing. Some people argue that attorneys have the right to talk to the government because of freedom of speech and the right to petition the government. However, there’s no clear rule that says this is allowed.
In a recent court case, it was decided that the public doesn’t have the right to speak at government meetings, so lawyers don’t have that right either. But, if the government invites people to talk about certain things at a meeting, then lawyers representing those people should be allowed to speak too. The government can still make rules about when and how they can talk. It’s important for attorneys to follow the rules when communicating with people who are represented by another lawyer. If a matter is in litigation, an attorney can only request public records from the government attorney. If an attorney is not sure if a public official or employee is represented by another lawyer, they should ask the government attorney. The attorney should also let the government attorney know if they need to communicate with their client. Overall, attorneys need to get permission before talking to someone who is represented by another lawyer. If you’re a lawyer, you need to communicate with government officials and employees through their lawyer if they have one. If you’re not sure if they have a lawyer, you should ask. And you might need to tell them that you’re a lawyer representing a client. And there are rules about this in the Florida Financial Institutions Codes and the Florida Bar Procedures for Ruling on Questions of Ethics. The Florida Bar changed its rules for lawyers in 1987, but the “authorized by law” exception was left out. This means that lawyers can’t communicate with someone represented by another lawyer, unless the other lawyer allows it or it’s allowed by law. This is to protect people’s legal rights and make sure lawyers follow the rules. There are also laws in Florida that protect people who report wrongdoing by public officials. And if someone wants to sue the government in Florida, they have to give notice first. The Florida Bar has rules about when lawyers can talk to government officials. They can’t talk to them if the government has a lawyer for the matter. But they can talk at a public hearing with notice to the government’s lawyer. If the lawyer wants to talk to a government official, they have to tell the government’s lawyer first. Marion J. Radson is a city attorney for Gainesville and has specialized certification in government law. He is highly involved in legal organizations. This column is written on behalf of a legal section.
Source: https://www.floridabar.org/the-florida-bar-journal/when-can-a-lawyer-communicate-with-your-client/
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