The duty in context
Client confidentiality client
The lawyer must keep the affairs of current, former and prospective clients confidential except where disclosure is required or permitted by law or the client gives informed consent.
How the codes express this duty
E&W Solicitors SRA Principles & Code CCS 6.3 strong 12 cases
6.3 You keep the affairs of current and former clients confidential unless disclosure is required or permitted by law or the client consents.
SRA Code of Conduct for Solicitors, RELs and RFLs · 2019 · archived copy · official source ↗
E&W Barristers BSB Handbook CD6; rC15.5; gC42 strong 3 cases
CD6 You must keep the affairs of each client confidential. rC15.5 you must protect the confidentiality of each client's affairs, except for such disclosures as are required or permitted by law or to which your client gives informed consent.
BSB Handbook · current · archived copy · official source ↗
Cayman Islands Legal Services Code 2026 R.5.1; R.6.1(c) strong
An attorney-at-law shall keep the affairs of clients, former clients and potential clients (where any information of a confidential nature has been provided) confidential except where — (a) a recognised law entity is compelled or permitted by law to disclose the information; or (b) the client, former client or potential client has given informed written consent to the information being disclosed.
Cayman Islands Legal Services Code of Professional Conduct · 2026 · archived copy
AU Solicitors Solicitors' Conduct Rules Rules 9.1; 9.2 strong 21 cases
9.1 A solicitor must not disclose any information which is confidential to a client and acquired by the solicitor during the client's engagement to any person who is not [a partner/principal/director/employee/barrister etc.]... EXCEPT as permitted in Rule 9.2. 9.2 A solicitor may disclose information which is confidential to a client if: 9.2.1 the client expressly or impliedly authorises disclosure; 9.2.2 the solicitor is permitted or is compelled by law to disclose...
Australian Solicitors' Conduct Rules · 2015 (June 2026 compilation) · archived copy · official source ↗
AU Barristers Uniform Barristers Rules r108 strong 3 cases
A barrister must not disclose (except as compelled by law) or use in any way confidential information obtained by the barrister in the course of practice concerning any person to whom the barrister owes some duty or obligation to keep such information confidential unless or until [exceptions].
Legal Profession Uniform Conduct (Barristers) Rules · 2015 (as amended 14 May 2025) · archived copy · official source ↗
IE Solicitors Law Society Guide Ch4 — Professional duty of confidentiality: General strong
Any matter relating to a client's affairs can only be disclosed with the consent of the client, by the direction of a court, or to a body requiring disclosure while exercising its statutory powers. The solicitor's professional duty of confidentiality should override a solicitor's inclination as a dutiful citizen to report any matter to the authorities.
Solicitor's Guide to Professional Conduct (Law Society of Ireland) · 4th ed. (2022) · archived copy · official source ↗
IE Barristers Bar Code of Conduct Rule 2.7; Rule 3.7(a) strong
Barristers must maintain the confidentiality of each client's affairs, and, subject to the provisions below, are under a duty not to communicate to any third party, information entrusted to them by or on behalf of their clients ... This duty continues at all times after the relation of Barrister and client has ceased, and after the death of the client.
Code of Conduct for the Bar of Ireland · 2024 · archived copy · official source ↗
JM Attorneys Canons of Professional Ethics Canon IV(t) strong 1 case
An Attorney shall not knowingly- (i) reveal a confidence or secret of his client, or (ii) use a confidence or secret of his client- (1) to the client's disadvantage; or (2) to his own advantage; or (3) to the advantage of any other person unless in any case it is done with the consent of the client after full disclosure.
Legal Profession (Canons of Professional Ethics) Rules · 1978 (principal) · archived copy · official source ↗
JE Lawyers Law Society of Jersey Code R.2.1 strong
Members must keep the affairs of clients, former clients and potential clients (where any information of a confidential nature has been provided) confidential except where a firm is compelled or permitted by law to disclose the information... or where the client, former client or potential client has agreed or given informed written consent to the information being disclosed.
Law Society of Jersey Code of Conduct · 1 January 2017 · archived copy · official source ↗
ON Lawyers LSO Rules of Prof. Conduct r 3.3-1 strong
A lawyer at all times shall hold in strict confidence all information concerning the business and affairs of the client acquired in the course of the professional relationship and shall not divulge any such information unless (a) expressly or impliedly authorized by the client; (b) required by law or by order of a tribunal of competent jurisdiction to do so; (c) required to provide the information to the Law Society; or (d) otherwise permitted by rules 3.3-2 to 3.3-6.
Law Society of Ontario — Rules of Professional Conduct · current · archived copy · official source ↗
BC Lawyers BC Code r 3.3-1 strong 1 case
A lawyer at all times must hold in strict confidence all information concerning the business and affairs of a client acquired in the course of the professional relationship and must not divulge any such information unless: (a) expressly or impliedly authorized by the client; (b) required by law or a court to do so; (c) required to deliver the information to the Law Society, or (d) otherwise permitted by this rule.
Code of Professional Conduct for British Columbia (BC Code) · 2017 · archived copy · official source ↗
NZ Lawyers Conduct & Client Care Rules r 8 strong
A lawyer has a duty to protect and to hold in strict confidence all information concerning a client, the retainer, and the client's business and affairs acquired in the course of the professional relationship.
Lawyers and Conveyancers Act (Lawyers: Conduct and Client Care) Rules 2008 · SR 2008/214 · archived copy · official source ↗
SCO Solicitors LSS Standards of Conduct B1.6 strong
You must maintain client confidentiality.
Law Society of Scotland — Practice Rules 2011, Rule B1 (Standards of Conduct) · 2011 · archived copy · official source ↗
SG Lawyers Professional Conduct Rules 2015 r 6 (Confidentiality) strong
6 Confidentiality
Legal Profession (Professional Conduct) Rules 2015 · 2015 · archived copy · official source ↗
HK Solicitors Solicitors' Guide Principle 8.01 strong
A solicitor has a legal and professional duty to his client to hold in strict confidence all information concerning the business and affairs of his client acquired in the course of the professional relationship, and must not divulge such information unless disclosure is expressly or impliedly authorized by the client or required by law or unless the client has expressly or impliedly waived the duty.
Hong Kong Solicitors' Guide to Professional Conduct (Volume 1) · current · archived copy · official source ↗
HK Barristers Bar Code of Conduct para 10.18(b) strong
A practising barrister must preserve the confidentiality of the client's affairs. He must not, without the prior consent of the client or unless compelled, required or permitted by law, lend the papers in any brief or instructions or reveal their contents ... This duty of confidentiality continues even after the termination of the relation of Counsel and client.
Code of Conduct of the Bar of the Hong Kong SAR · 2018 · archived copy · official source ↗
Cases dealing with this duty
38 decisions · link basis: found breached = a tribunal finding; rule cited = the mapped provision is cited in the decision; text match = high-precision text pattern
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Charles Elwes Dunbar
Breaches, Client Money, Failures, Solicitors' Accounts Rules
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David Shorrocks
Breaches, Failures
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Robin Carl TAMPOE
Guilty of professional misconduct on 2 charges.
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MARK TERENCE TROWELL
Unsatisfactory Conduct by Unprofessional Conduct
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JANET WALTON
Struck Off the Roll of Practitioners
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Diane Kay Whiston
Others
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Selwyn Kennedy Noel
Breaches, Failures, Solicitors' Accounts Rules, Others
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Scott Michael Canavan
Criminal Convictions
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Benjamin Joseph O'Brien
In respect to charges 1, 2, 3 and 4 in the discipline application is proved and is found to constitute professional misconduct
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Colin Philip Henry Murray
The Respondent’s conduct in relation to charge 1 is proved and is found to constitute professional misconduct.
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Michael William Kemp
The Respondent engaged in professional misconduct in respect of the 2023 proceedings and charge 8 of the 2024 proceedings.
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Michael Anthony Graham
Guilty of professional misconduct on charge 1 to 5
Duty classification does not yet cover every jurisdiction (Ontario, New Zealand and Singapore decisions are indexed but not yet duty-classified), so counts here understate those corpora.