Joanna Storey Authors BASF Blog Post on Requirements of California's Professional Conduct Rule 1.13

Hinshaw attorney Joanna Storey recently authored a blog post titled "Rule 1.13 Likely Requires a Lawyer to 'Report Up' an Instruction to 'Bury the Evidence.'" Published by the Bar Association of San Francisco's (BASF) Legal by the Bay blog, the piece discusses the implications of California Rule of Professional Conduct (CRPC) 1.13, which addresses a lawyer's duty to organizational clients.

According to Rule 1.13, a lawyer represents an organization through the entity's duly authorized "directors, officers, employees, members, shareholders, or other constituents" for a particular engagement. As Storey explains, the old CRPC Rule 3-600 permitted, but did not require a lawyer to "report up" client constituent malfeasance. However, Rule 1.13 now mandates it under certain circumstances.

"Rule 1.13 Likely Requires a Lawyer to 'Report Up' an Instruction to 'Bury the Evidence,'" was published by Legal by the Bay on June 24, 2020. It was also republished by Continuing Education of the Bar on November 2, 2020.