WPC 7#!UN3 % 0H@w@4 mEe  0J 0TZ 0^ 0h  0rt 0| 0b 0 1ux 0d U>Q v~ v BHP LaserJet 4050 T PCL 60x@ Z6Times New Roman RegularX({$         TRY(3' LetterY3' Letter3' Letter3'8Avery 5266 Asst. File FolderTc:\Corel\Office7\Template\Wp7us.wpt ////DD[gd&t Format܃3|xU 2 0Indent123  2" 0Indent20 23  2, 0Indent30 0 23  26 0Indent40 0 0 23  2@ 0Indent50 0 0 0 23  2J 0Indent60 0 0 0 0 23  2T 0Indent70 0 0 0 0 0 23  2^ 0Indent80 0 0 0 0 0 0 23   ?AGMSYaioIndent0I.A.1.a.(1)(a)i)a)P 8Mac DefaultMac Default ` X<  9p`(&Times New RomanPtPtHH@R-(,, N `d'gHɒ Styl{WP}01  HH  2$HH  Geneva  <Px443!#4$*$$*$ KK  Geneva  Geneva .,6 Geneva   :Desk Geneva  :Desk Geneva  d ! .         \R3'\     ` ` Xӛ8XXdXXd8  BOARDOFPROFESSIONALRESPONSIBILITYOFTHESUPREMECOURTOFTENNESSEE    FORMALETHICSOPINION99F143(a)  A6 ) xdE xA    Afurtherinquiryregardingtherelationshipbetween   lawyers,whoareappointedbyinsurancecompaniesto   defend,andinsurancecompanies. A6 ) xdExABoardofProfessionalResponsibilityFormalEthicsOpinion99F143(61499)addressestheincreasingtendencyofinsurancecompaniestoauditthebillsandfilesofattorneysretainedtorepresenttheirinsureds.Theopinionstatesthatpriortoallowingauditorstoreviewattorney'sbillsandcasefiles,clientconsentmustbegiven.Theopinionalsomandatesthatattorneysarenotallowedtoenterintoanyagreementtorepresentaninsuredwherebytheinsurancecompanyhasthepowertodirectthemanneroftheattorney'srepresentation.ArequestforaclarificationofthisopinionhasbeenpresentedtotheBoard.Thefirstissuepresentedinthisrequestiswhetheranattorneymaycomplywiththeaforesaidopinionsimplyby"redacting"theconfidencesandsecretsfromtheclients'filesandbillspriortosubmittingthemtotheauditors.Itshouldbereiteratedthatifaclientconsents,thereisnoproblemsubmittinganyfileorbilltoanauditor.DR4101(a)requiresalawyertokeepnotonlyinformationprotectedbytheattorney/clientprivilegeconfidential,butalsoany"secret"."Secrets"include"otherinformationgainedintheprofessionalrelationshipthattheclienthasrequestedtobeheldinviolateorthedisclosurewhichwouldbeembarrassingorwouldlikelytobedetrimentaltotheclient.""Asecret"canthereforebealmostanythingtheclientdoesnotwishtobedisclosed.Forinstance,inBoardofProfessionalResponsibilityFormalOpinionNo.82F25(February22,1982),theBoardnotedthatevenzipcodes,birthdates,race,sourcesofreferral,etc.,maybeconsidered"secrets".Itisnotuptotheattorneytodeterminewhattheclientwishestokeepconfidentialorsecret.Thusanattorneycannotunilaterallymakeredactionsbasedonhis/herpersonaljudgmentastotheconfidentialityofcertaininformationinhis/herfile.Clientconsentremainsnecessaryforanydisclosure.Thesecondissueiswhethertheattorneycomplieswiththerequirementsofthisethicsopinionbysendingthebillnotdirectlytotheauditservice,buttotheinsurancecompanywiththeknowledgethattheinsurancecompanymayforwardthebilltotheauditor.DR1102(a)statesthatalawyer"shallnotcircumventthedisciplinaryrulesthroughactionsofanother."Therefore,alawyercannotevadetherequirementsoftheaforesaidopinionbyparticipatinginaschemewherebytheinsurancecompanyforwardsthebilltotheauditor.Thefinalissuerelatestoaproposedinsurancecompanyrequirementthatanattorney,whofeelshe/shecannotprovidecompetentrepresentationtoaclientundertheinsurer'slitigationguidelines,mustfirstdiscussthesituationwiththeinsurancecompany.Suchpreliminarydiscussionsarepermissible,butconfidentialcommunicationsorinformationcannotbedisclosedwithouttheclient'sconsent.Ifafterthediscussiontheattorneyandtheinsurancecompanycontinueindisagreementastospecificaspectsoftheattorney'srepresentation,OpinionNo.99F143requirestheattorneytodisregardtheinsurancecompany'sdirectivesandtoproceedinthedirectionhe/shebelievestobeinthebestinterestofhis/herclient. This10thdayofSeptember,1999.       ETHICSCOMMITTEE       JohannaJ.McGlothlin,Chair       RichardA.Fisher       TomHill       JohnJ.Walton         APPROVEDANDADOPTEDBYTHEBOARD  .TDK:\LTP\RESEARCH\ETHICS\99F143A.FEOTK:\LTP\RESEARCH\ETHICS\99F143A.FEO/  X