Imagine that the board of directors of a large corporation hires you to conduct an “independent” investigation into conduct that implicates the officers or directors of the corporation. If the board contemplates that the results of the investigation will be shared outside the company, does privilege attach? Are the results truly “independent?” Those are some of the issues that arise when providing legal opinions.
A routine part of nearly every attorney-client relationship is the provision of legal opinions by the attorney to the client. This can occur in a wide variety of contexts including, for example, a legal opinion relating to a real estate transaction or regarding the client’s likelihood of success in potential litigation. While providing a legal opinion may seem like a straightforward task, there are a number of ethical considerations that can arise, including most notably where the opinion is to be shared with third parties.
