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13 October 2023
Issue: 8044 / Categories: Legal News , Regulatory , Profession
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NLJ this week: Client confessions & other client confidentiality dilemmas

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Client confidentiality is generally seen as absolute with very limited exceptions, but tough ethical dilemmas can still arise, as Iain Miller, partner, & Charlotte Judd, senior associate, Kingsley Napley discuss in this week’s NLJ, complete with some alarming examples

What if the client tells you in confidence they have murdered two victims and buried their bodies? The crime has already been committed and is not related to the advice they are seeking from you now.

Or—this is a real-life example from the US, so readers can compare what they would have done with what actually happened—what if the client confesses they committed a crime for which someone else is currently serving time in prison? 

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Jurit LLP—Caroline Williams

Jurit LLP—Caroline Williams

Private wealth and tax team welcomes cross-border specialist as consultant

Freeths—Michelle Kirkland Elias

Freeths—Michelle Kirkland Elias

International hospitality and leisure specialist joins corporate team as partner

Flint Bishop—Deborah Niven

Flint Bishop—Deborah Niven

Firm appoints head of intellectual property to drive northern growth

NEWS
Talk of a reserved ‘Welsh seat’ on the Supreme Court is misplaced. In NLJ this week, Professor Graham Zellick KC explains that the Constitutional Reform Act treats ‘England and Wales’ as one jurisdiction, with no statutory Welsh slot
The government’s plan to curb jury trials has sparked ‘jury furore’. Writing in NLJ this week, David Locke, partner at Hill Dickinson, says the rationale is ‘grossly inadequate’
A year after the $1.5bn Bybit heist, crypto fraud is booming—but so is recovery. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Holloway, founder and CEO of M2 Recovery, warns that scams hit at least $14bn in 2025, fuelled by ‘pig butchering’ cons and AI deepfakes
After Woodcock confirmed no general duty to warn, debate turns to the criminal law. Writing in NLJ this week, Charles Davey of The Barrister Group urges revival of misprision or a modern equivalent
Family courts are tightening control of expert evidence. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Chris Pamplin says there is ‘no automatic right’ to call experts; attendance must be ‘necessary in the interests of justice’ under FPR Pt 25
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