The purpose of the guidance is to support lawyers in meeting their professional obligations and specifically addresses concerns about whether confidentiality clauses can prevent lawyers from reporting misconduct, participating in complaints processes, or meeting their professional and regulatory obligations.
The guidance makes clear that lawyers cannot contract out of their professional and regulatory obligations. While confidentiality provisions can play an important role in resolving disputes, they should not be structured in such a way that they appear to override a lawyer’s professional obligations or could impede the progress of complaints and disciplinary processes.
Lawyers involved in negotiating, drafting or entering settlement agreements are encouraged to consider their professional obligations early and seek advice if they are unsure about the effect of a proposed confidentiality clause.
