A recent Federal Court decision has found that solicitors do not owe any overarching duty of loyalty to former clients.
Solicitors owe a perpetual duty to preserve the confidentiality of client information, and to uphold the due administration of justice. On Monday the court affirmed these duties but said that, where there is no risk to confidential information or the administration of justice, there is no general requirement of “loyalty” that can be used to prevent a solicitor from acting against a former client:
For more information about this decision and its ramifications, please do not hesitate to contact us.