A divorce lawyer is guiding you through a terrible time in your life. There may be personal things you are worried will impact your case or be revealed to others. Should you tell your Illinois divorce lawyer everything?
The worst thing that could happen is for your Illinois divorce attorney to be the last to know what everyone else already knows.
Divorce lawyers keep a lot of secrets. We have to. It is literally required that we divorce attorneys can not divulge anything our clients tell us (unless they allow us to).
What An Illinois Divorce Lawyer Will Keep Secret
“A lawyer shall not reveal information relating to the representation of a client unless the client gives informed consent” Ill. R. Prof’l Conduct R. 1.6 (eff. Jan 1, 2016)
So, please tell your Illinois divorce lawyer anything you want. Your divorce lawyer can not tell anyone anything that you said unless you give that lawyer permission to tell ANYTHING related to their representation of you and your divorce case.
Furthermore, NO ONE can make your Illinois divorce lawyer tell anything about you that was learned in the course of representing you.
Attorney-client privilege is defined by Illinois courts as “where legal advice of any kind is sought from a professional legal advisor in his capacity as such, the communications relating to that purpose, made in confidence by the client, are protected from disclosure by himself or the legal adviser” Fischel & Kahn, Ltd. v. Van Straaten Gallery, Inc., 727 NE 2d 240 – Ill: Supreme Court 2000
The whole point of attorney-client privilege is so that a divorce client feels comfortable telling their divorce lawyer EVERYTHING without fear of repercussion from their spouse or anyone else.
“The purpose of the attorney-client privilege is to encourage and promote full and frank consultation between a client and legal advisor by removing the fear of compelled disclosure of information.” Consolidation Coal Co. v. Bucyrus-Erie Co. (1982), 89 Ill.2d 103, 117-18, 59 Ill.Dec. 666, 432 N.E.2d 250.
“All matters that are privileged against disclosure on the trial, including privileged communications between a party or his agent and the attorney for the party, are privileged against disclosure through any discovery procedure.” Rule 201(b) – General Discovery Provisions, Ill. Sup. Ct. R. 201
So, yes, tell your Illinois divorce lawyer everything. He or she needs to know everything to properly represent you.
In fact, if you tell your Illinois divorce lawyer something embarrassing or even illegal, your divorce lawyer will protect you from that harmful information (to an extent).
If you tell your Illinois divorce lawyer something false…that the Illinois divorce lawyer knows to be false, your Illinois divorce lawyer cannot use that information in open court…and that will keep both of you out of trouble.
“A lawyer shall not knowingly…offer evidence that the lawyer knows to be false. If a lawyer, the lawyer’s client, or a witness called by the lawyer, has offered material evidence and the lawyer comes to know of its falsity, the lawyer shall take reasonable remedial measures, including, if necessary, disclosure to the tribunal. A lawyer may refuse to offer evidence, other than the testimony of a defendant in a criminal matter, that the lawyer reasonably believes is false.” Ill. Sup. Ct. R. 3.3
What An Illinois Divorce Lawyer May Not Keep Secret
If you’re in the midst of an ongoing crime, an Illinois divorce lawyer can decide to keep it a secret.
“A lawyer may reveal information relating to the representation of a client to the extent the lawyer reasonably believes necessary…to prevent the client from committing a crime in circumstances other than those specified in paragraph (c); Ill. R. Prof’l Conduct R. 1.6 (eff. Jan 1, 2016)
If that crime is going to physically hurt someone, the Illinois divorce lawyer MUST report you to the authorities.
“(c) A lawyer shall reveal information relating to the representation of a client to the extent the lawyer reasonably believes necessary to prevent reasonably certain death or substantial bodily harm.” Ill. R. Prof’l Conduct R. 1.6 (eff. Jan 1, 2016)
More typically, an Illinois divorce lawyer has the option of revealing information if you are involved in an ongoing financial scheme to defraud (your spouse, the IRS, your employer, etc).
““A lawyer may reveal information relating to the representation of a client to the extent the lawyer reasonably believes necessary:
…
(2) to prevent the client from committing fraud that is reasonably certain to result in substantial injury to the financial interests or property of another and in furtherance of which the client has used or is using the lawyer’s services;
(3) to prevent, mitigate or rectify substantial injury to the financial interests or property of another that is reasonably certain to result or has resulted from the client’s commission of a crime or fraud in furtherance of which the client has used the lawyer’s services;” Ill. R. Prof’l Conduct R. 1.6 (eff. Jan 1, 2016)
Revealing fraudulent activity to your lawyer is actually the best way to find out if you have a good divorce lawyer. If your divorce lawyer is any good, they will immediately withdraw from your case (but without saying a word about it to anyone else).
If An Illinois Divorce Lawyer Doesn’t Like Your Secret, They Will Withdraw
“[A] lawyer may withdraw from representing a client if:
…
(2) the client persists in a course of action involving the lawyer’s services that the lawyer reasonably believes is criminal or fraudulent;
(3) the client has used the lawyer’s services to perpetrate a crime or fraud;
(4) the client insists upon taking action that the lawyer considers repugnant or with which the lawyer has a fundamental disagreement;
…
or
(7) other good cause for withdrawal exists.” Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct 1.16(b)
You should tell your Illinois divorce lawyer everything! It can never hurt you. The worst thing that can happen is that your Illinois divorce lawyer will withdraw from your case in a cloud of mystery.
A common issue is when clients reveals to their divorce lawyers secret assets with instructions to not to reveal those assets to the other spouse and their attorney. A divorce lawyer must honor that request…but cannot continue to represent the party without disclosing those assets pursuant to Illinois’ discovery rules.
If your Illinois divorce lawyer catches you in a lie to the lawyer or to anyone else, expect your divorce lawyer to leave your case. That is what I do….EVERY TIME. But I never breath a word about why I left the case. There is no fee that is worth perpetuating dishonesty that would diminish my reputation or compromise my conscience.
A good lawyer is a credible lawyer. Tell the truth even if the truth hurts. Lies do not work in court…because they are not true. Judges can tell what’s real or not. “The trier of fact must, as a matter of law, reject testimony which is so inherently improbable as to be contrary to the common experience of mankind.” In re Marriage of Gordon, 233 Ill. App. 3d 617, 657 (Ill. App. Ct. 1992)
If you want to have an honest discussion with an experienced Chicago divorce attorney, contact my Chicago, Illinois family law firm to discuss all of your options.
