Must a discharged Vermont lawyer destroy or surrender interview notes containing a former client's confidences?
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This page answers the general question as of 1985. Ask about yours and see what the current Vermont Rules of Professional Conduct say for your facts, with citations.
Plain-English summary
A discharged divorce lawyer gave successor counsel the case file except personal notes of client interviews, impressions, and strategy. The former client demanded the notes without copies being kept. The lawyer wanted them to document the work performed. The committee assumed the lawyer's impressions and strategies were lawyer work product and that papers belonging to the client had been delivered.
On those assumptions, the committee held that protecting confidences did not require purging the lawyer's own records. Former DR 4-101 continued to prevent improper use or disclosure, while its exceptions contemplated retention of information for later permitted uses. The opinion did not address a fee dispute or lien and did not decide ownership of notes outside its stated assumption.
Currency note
This opinion was issued in 1985 under Vermont's former Code of Professional Responsibility. The Vermont Supreme Court's rules history states that the Rules of Professional Conduct applied to lawyer conduct after September 1, 1999. Later amendments or opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this opinion as historical context and verify current rules before relying on it.
Common questions
Q: Did confidentiality require the lawyer to destroy interview notes?
A: No. The committee distinguished continued protection against disclosure from the lawyer's retention of personal notes.
Q: Did the opinion determine whether every note belonged to the lawyer?
A: No. It expressly assumed the impressions and strategies were lawyer work product rather than client property, and that client-entitled papers had been delivered.
Background and rules framework
The committee applied former DR 4-101 to retained confidences and referred to DR 2-110(A)(2)'s duty to deliver client-entitled papers and property upon withdrawal.
Citations and references
Rules of Professional Conduct:
- Vermont Code of Professional Responsibility DR 4-101, DR 2-110(A)(2), EC 2-32, and EC 4-1
Other opinions cited:
- Vermont Opinion 82-9, fee dispute and lien distinction
See also
Source
- Landing page: Vermont Bar Association confidences opinions
- Original PDF: Opinion 85-07
- Vermont Supreme Court rules history, “These rules apply to lawyer conduct after September 1, 1999.”
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