The last time the committee pondered the issue was over a decade ago, when it considered the undisclosed recording of telephone conversations to be offensive to "the sense of honor and fair play of most people." Now recognizing that lawyers may have legitimate reasons to record conversations (for accurate record keeping, for protection from false accusations, and so on) and also that many other types of businesses routinely record conversations, the committee decided to allow an attorney's recording of a telephone conversation with the following restrictions:
- Any recording involving a client must be made to further a legitimate purpose of the lawyer or client;
- Confidential client information contained in a recording must be protected in accordance with the rules concerning privilege;
- An undisclosed recording must not constitute a "serious" criminal violation under the laws of any jurisdiction applicable to the telephone call; and
- The recording must not be contrary to a representation made by the lawyer to any person.
With this recent change in the way attorneys are allowed to record conversations, our advice is more important than ever: what you say now to an attorney who contacts you about a potential claim or lawsuit may later be transcribed and enlarged for a jury to see.
About the Author:
Anthony Lowenberg was born in Dallas, Texas, on September 23, 1974. He speaks conversational German, and his practice is devoted primarily to general litigation, including commercial and business litigation, real estate litigation, professional liability, and products liability.
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