This blog entry is the first in a series
offering a few tips for working with human trafficking survivors who are
represented by an attorney. This entry discusses confidentiality.
Our work in the University of Michigan’sHuman Trafficking Clinic (HTC) is, at times, complicated by our clients’
relationships with volunteers and other professionals (e.g. law enforcement
officers, prosecutors, defense attorneys, social workers, and therapists). We
do not doubt that volunteers and other professionals are good-hearted people
who want to help our clients. But, as in all interdisciplinary work, when more
than one “helper” is involved there can be challenges.
Attorneys
are legally and ethically bound to maintain a confidential relationship with
clients.
When an attorney and a client talk, their conversations are protected by the
attorney-client privilege. Attorneys must keep those privileged conversations
private unless the client or some other law permits the privilege to be broken.
This is important for a few reasons.
First,
a conversation between an attorney and client is not considered a privileged
conversation if someone else is present. If a support person (e.g. a friend,
relative, or volunteer advocate) wishes to be present for a client meeting, the
conversation will not be privileged even if the client consents to the person
being there. If you are asked to accompany a survivor to a meeting with an
attorney, you should assume that it is fine to go along and wait outside the
meeting to lend support. Generally it is
best for support persons to exclude themselves from attorney meetings.
Attorney
confidentiality also restricts our ability to share information with others. If you are helping
a survivor and you need information about a legal matter, the client must give
the attorney explicit permission to share information with you. Advocates call
us and ask about the status of a client’s case. Please do not be offended if we
cannot share information with you. If clients choose to share information and
waive confidentiality, they may. Of course, no one should be pressured to waive confidentiality as it allows the
client and attorney to speak honestly with each other about information that a
client may not choose to share with anyone else.
Finally,
attorneys may not reveal the identity of their clients without the clients’
consent.
So, if our client has not publicly acknowledged HTC as his or her attorney, we
will not confirm or deny to you whether or not we represent a survivor. We
cannot even tell our current clients the names of our other clients without
explicit consent from each client. So, you could have a conversation with one
of us about a survivor and be surprised to later learn that we represent that
survivor. Please do not be offended that we didn’t inform you during the
conversation! Our rules require us to keep that information confidential.
TAKE ACTION: If you or someone you know
wishes to contact HTC for legal advice and/or possible representation, please
call 734-615-3600.
Suellyn Scarnecchia is a Clinical Professor
of Law at the University of Michigan Law School.
