§ discipline

Handle inadvertently received material client

On receiving confidential or privileged material disclosed by mistake, the lawyer must not use it and must return, destroy or delete it and notify the other party.

288 cases 66% strike-off avg suspension 18.3 mo avg fine 26,692 148 with dishonesty finding

How the codes express this duty

E&W Solicitors SRA Principles & Code CCS 6.4(d) partial 227 cases
6.4 ... except when: ... (d) the information is contained in a privileged document that you have knowledge of only because it has been mistakenly disclosed.

SRA Code of Conduct for Solicitors, RELs and RFLs · 2019 · archived copy · official source ↗

E&W Barristers BSB Handbook rC26.6; gC86 partial 7 cases
rC26 You may cease to act on a matter on which you are instructed and return your instructions if: ... .6 you become aware of confidential or privileged information or documents of another person which relate to the matter on which you are instructed;

BSB Handbook · current · archived copy · official source ↗

Cayman Islands Legal Services Code 2026 R.5.2.2(b) partial
where the information in question is received under a duty of confidence, including mistaken disclosure, or receipt where it is agreed with the client that no duty to disclose arises or a different standard of disclosure applies

Cayman Islands Legal Services Code of Professional Conduct · 2026 · archived copy

AU Solicitors Solicitors' Conduct Rules Rules 31.1; 31.3 strong
31.1 ...a solicitor to whom material known or reasonably suspected to be confidential is disclosed... and who is aware that the disclosure was inadvertent must not use the material and must: 31.1.1 return, destroy or delete the material (as appropriate) immediately upon becoming aware that disclosure was inadvertent; and 31.1.2 notify the other solicitor or the other person of the disclosure... 31.3 If a solicitor is instructed by a client to read confidential material received in error, the solicitor must refuse to do so.

Australian Solicitors' Conduct Rules · 2015 (June 2026 compilation) · archived copy · official source ↗

AU Barristers Uniform Barristers Rules no clear equivalent
IE Solicitors Law Society Guide Ch4 — Material disclosed by mistake; Receipt of information intended for the other party strong
If a privileged communication is inadvertently disclosed to another party, the solicitor can still assert privilege on behalf of the client. Solicitors should not knowingly open privileged communications not addressed to the solicitor or the solicitor's firm. If a solicitor mistakenly acquires such communications, then privilege is retained by the sender.

Solicitor's Guide to Professional Conduct (Law Society of Ireland) · 4th ed. (2022) · archived copy · official source ↗

IE Barristers Bar Code of Conduct Rule 7.6 partial
No Barrister shall use for any professional or private purpose or otherwise disclose any information on professional matters obtained accidentally or otherwise from observation of documents or from conversation with or between colleagues in or outside of the Law Library.

Code of Conduct for the Bar of Ireland · 2024 · archived copy · official source ↗

JM Attorneys Canons of Professional Ethics no clear equivalent
JE Lawyers Law Society of Jersey Code G.2.20-G.2.21 strong
If, during the course of a matter, a member receives information or documents from either a client or a third party, which clearly appear to have been (a) disclosed inadvertently or (b) obtained improperly, the member must return such information or documents to the rightful owner without use being made of the information or documents.

Law Society of Jersey Code of Conduct · 1 January 2017 · archived copy · official source ↗

ON Lawyers LSO Rules of Prof. Conduct r 7.2-10 partial
A lawyer who receives a document relating to the representation of the lawyer's client and knows or reasonably ought to know that the document was inadvertently sent shall promptly notify the sender.

Law Society of Ontario — Rules of Professional Conduct · current · archived copy · official source ↗

BC Lawyers BC Code r 7.2-10 strong 20 cases
A lawyer who has access to or comes into possession of a document that the lawyer has reasonable grounds to believe belongs to or is intended for an opposing party and was not intended for the lawyer to see, must: (a) in the case of a paper document, return it unread and uncopied to the party to whom it belongs, (b) in the case of an electronic document, delete it unread and uncopied and advise the party to whom it belongs that that was done,

Code of Professional Conduct for British Columbia (BC Code) · 2017 · archived copy · official source ↗

NZ Lawyers Conduct & Client Care Rules r 13.9.4 strong
If a lawyer becomes aware that privileged information or documents have been inadvertently released in circumstances where privilege has not been waived, the lawyer must not disclose the contents of the material to a client, must inform the other lawyer (or litigant if unrepresented) of the release, and must return any documents forthwith.

Lawyers and Conveyancers Act (Lawyers: Conduct and Client Care) Rules 2008 · SR 2008/214 · archived copy · official source ↗

SCO Solicitors LSS Standards of Conduct no clear equivalent
SG Lawyers Professional Conduct Rules 2015 no clear equivalent
HK Solicitors Solicitors' Guide Principle 8.03 Commentary 6 strong
Where it is obvious to a solicitor that documents have been mistakenly disclosed to him on discovery or otherwise he must immediately cease to read the documents, inform the other side and return the documents without making copies. The solicitor should inform his client.

Hong Kong Solicitors' Guide to Professional Conduct (Volume 1) · current · archived copy · official source ↗

HK Barristers Bar Code of Conduct para 10.45 partial
If before or during a case, a document belonging to the other side should come into the possession of Counsel, he should if he intends to make any use of it inform his opponent that it has come into his possession. This information should be communicated in sufficient time for the opponent to raise an objection to the use of the document.

Code of Conduct of the Bar of the Hong Kong SAR · 2018 · archived copy · official source ↗

Cases dealing with this duty

Clear

288 decisions · link basis: found breached = a tribunal finding; rule cited = the mapped provision is cited in the decision; text match = high-precision text pattern

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.