With new county commissioners, school board members, and municipal councilpersons being sworn in after last month’s local elections, the face and voice of the client has changed for more than one local government attorney. What happens when one of those faces and voices is related to the attorney? Is it okay if the town attorney’s […]
Posts Tagged ‘professional responsibility’
Politics, Poole, and the Government Attorney-Client Privilege
Thursday, November 12th, 2009An interesting government attorney-client privilege issue arose amidst the media hoopla surrounding former governor Mike Easley’s appearance before the state Board of Elections last month. Ruffin Poole, an attorney who served as executive counsel to then-Gov. Easley, sought to avoid testifying before the board based on attorney-client privilege and on facts submitted in a sealed affidavit. This despite the fact […]
“Stop Calling My Client!” Communication Between Opposing Counsel and Government Officials
Thursday, October 1st, 2009Can a local government attorney use North Carolina legal ethics rules to prevent opposing counsel from contacting government officials in the midst of a legal controversy? Consider this hypothetical situation: Greta Gunslinger, a renowned litigation attorney, is representing a local developer in a lawsuit against the city over the denial of zoning approval for a major commercial development project. Since filing the complaint, Greta […]