Rules 4.2 and 4.3 of the New York Rules of Professional Conduct impose varying duties on attorneys regarding their communications with other represented and unrepresented persons about the subject of the representation. While most attorneys know the basic premise of Rules 4.2 and 4.3, in everyday practice, these seemingly distinct rules that are designed to serve separate purposes, do not always operate independently in the course of a representation.
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Rule 4.2(a), commonly known as the “no-contact rule,” prohibits a lawyer from communicating about the subject matter of a representation with a party the lawyer knows to be represented by counsel, unless authorized by law or the lawyer obtains prior consent from the party’s counsel. On its face, the rule appears relatively straightforward but it is not so simple once translated into practice.
