Civil litigators enjoy one of the most complex and interesting relationships between people — the attorney-client relationship — in so many ways such a close relationship in some cases and in so many ways a risky relationship. See Exhibit A (linked here); Exh. B (linked here); Exh. C (linked here).
One recipe for disaster: the zealous sleuth client, who, increasingly frequently, shows up at the lawyer’s office with “a listening device…” or a thumb-drive of clandestine recordings…
Before joining in to a rollicking reenactment of an episode of I Spy, however, litigators should think twice and review all applicable law on clandestine “privacy-invading” investigation techniques. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure; one lawyer’s “smoking gun” may be his adversary’s down-payment on a condo at Snowbird.