After a long day at work, it’s entirely normal for an attorney to head to the local pub to grab a quick drink. But the tequila poppers go too far when you’re dumping client confidences all over the place. That’s what apparently happened in Orlando the other night according to a viral tweet.
Some of the reaction to this tweet scolds folks for trying to get a lawyer fired for a simple mistake. I’m all for forgiveness, but this is Attorney 101 here. You don’t throw client files around willy-nilly. Losing a laptop does put client confidences at risk — and attorneys should use encryption, or better yet put files in the cloud, to prevent that sort of disclosure — but it happens. But she’s not saying “you lost your bag” or “lost your computer.” When she’s saying a lawyer lost a whole file, she’s talking about a redweld that someone just took into the bar and left behind after 6 rounds of beer pong. There’s no forgiveness for that. Getting canned is the only appropriate punishment.
In any event… good luck on the custody fight.
Joe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.