The Gazette 1991

JULY/AUGUST 1991

GAZETTE

to his client not to disclose to third parties any info- rmation confidentially revealed to him in his capacity as a lawyer and that duty continues after the relationship of lawyer and client has ceased". Lord Chancellor Brougham in Greenhough -v- GasketI (1833) explains that the fundamental importance of this privilege " i s out of regard to the interests of justice, which cannot be upholden, and to the admi n i s t r a t i on of justice, which cannot go on without the aid of men skilled in jurisprudence, in the practice of the courts, and in those matters affecting rights and obliga- tions wh i ch f o rm the subject of all judicial proceedings. If the privi- lege did not exist at all, every one would be thrown upon his own legal resources; deprived of all

(v) The Rights and Obliga- tions of Confidentiality To a greater or lesser degree all professions have a duty to maintain the privacy of their client's communications to them but the obligation upon solicitors as with barristers is absolute and confers an absolute right upon the client. Without the client's per- mission, it would be a breach of the duty of confidentiality to disclose or discuss the client's affairs with other professionals within the MDP. More importantly, subject to certain well defined except- ions, a solicitor cannot be made to disclose confidential information to the courts. The obligations upon a solicitor to keep his client's communications confidential is a fundamental principle and part of the ethos of the Irish solicitor. Cordery on Solicitors, 8th Edition, Page 11 states:- "A lawyer is under a duty

prejudicially affect the rights, duties, obligations and service Of Irish solicitors and the independence and integrity of Irish law itself. It is significant that while the commerical services of the "Big 5 " accountants have undoubtedly met the needs of "If partners of the multinational accountancy firms were to become partners of Irish solicitors, it would not be long before the financial muscle of English, European or American influence could prejudicially affect. . . some sectors of commerce and industry they are in- creasingly failing to satisfy the needs of individuals for cost efficient services de- livered with continuity of pro- fessional personnel.

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