California Supreme Court Approves New Rule of Professional Conduct On June 2, 2023.
The California Supreme Court approved a much discussed Rule of Professional Conduct requiring lawyers, without undue delay, to report professional misconduct.
Much as lawyer misconduct in the Watergate Scandal resulted in professional ethics requirements and testing in California, the Girardi Affair has triggered a response from the State Bar and the California Supreme Court requiring the reporting of professional misconduct. Fortunately for mediators, the new rule does not override mediation confidentiality.
Part (d) of the Rule, which is linked here, states: "This rule does not require or authorize disclosure of information gained by a lawyer while participating in a substance use or mental health program, or require disclosure of information protected by Business and Professions Code section 6068, subdivision (e) and rules 1.6 and 1.8.2; mediation confidentiality; the lawyer-client privilege; other applicable privileges; or by other rules or laws, including information that is confidential under Business and Professions Code section 6234."
BONUS: From Wikipedia: "An informant (also called an informer or, as a slang term, a "snitch", "rat", "stool pigeon", "stoolie" or "grass", among other terms) is a person who provides privileged information, or (usually damaging) information intended to be intimate, concealed, or secret, about a person or organization to an agency, often a government or law enforcement agency."
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