As lawyers, it is not uncommon to find yourself in legal discussions in social settings, whether in the company of friends, or when interacting with current or former clients, or clients’ associates, outside of business hours and in non-work settings. For example, you may belong to the same sporting, recreational, cultural or religious groups, attend the same barbeques or parties, or run into them at the school gates, at local events, or while shopping or dining out. 

In this situation, you might find that people share information with you relating to current, future or possible future legal matters, and perhaps seek your views. The key risks you face in this circumstance are:

• possible confusion about whether information you share with them is or is not legal advice, and whether any information they discuss with you is, or is not, being provided in the course of a current or proposed retainer or agreement to act
• breaching client confidentiality if the person seeking your view is a current or former client (and the discussions happen in settings with others present) 
• if you are an employee, government or corporate practitioner and the advice sought is unconnected with your employer’s business (e.g. advice to friends on personal matters), you may be personally exposed to a claim for negligent advice and have no insurance cover for that claim. 

Insofar as possible, we recommend that you avoid engaging in in-depth conversations about legal matters in social situations, including with friends and current or former clients, to avoid any ambiguity. The following sections provide further guidance about how to managing such discussions if they arise.  

Interacting with current clients 

If a legal discussion does come up while interacting with a current client in a social setting, you should:

• seek to delay the discussion to a more appropriate time and place, such as at the office or over the phone, during business hours
• emphasise the importance of discussing their legal matter in a setting that is confidential and in which you are able to take notes and keep a record of the discussion, as well as have access to other relevant information (e.g. contracts, emails, etc.)  
• ensure that any information they have already shared is later captured in a file note. 

If the information your client has shared was not provided as part of the existing retainer or agreement to act, let them know that the discussion is outside of the scope of the existing retainer and therefore will not attract any of the relevant common law or statutory protections, including confidentiality. 

Interacting with friends, former clients, or associates of current or former clients

If a legal discussion comes up while socially interacting with friends, former clients, or associates of current or former clients, there is a way to politely steer the conversation away from the specifics and into more neutral territory. You can: 

• ask a couple of basic questions designed to clarify what the general issue is, while making it clear that they shouldn’t get into specifics. This gives you some time to think. 
• explain what type of legal expertise they appear to require, and recommend professional colleagues who may be able to help or some general legal resources that they could self-access
• if you and your firm are in a position to take on the work, recommend that they make an appointment through your office so that you can get complete details, and 
• let them know that they should not provide further details before they have a formal retainer or agreement with you or another lawyer – because anything they tell you is not covered by legal professional privilege or other professional duties, and therefore you could be compelled to divulge what they tell you, in some circumstances. 

An additional risk of engaging in legal discussions in social settings with friends, former clients or associates of current or former clients, is that you may, inadvertently or otherwise, provide—or be perceived to have provided—information or advice to a person whom you discover, upon your return to the office, is an opposing party to a current client of your practice, thereby resulting in a conflict. 

Depending on the circumstances, you may also need to consider whether by being informed of certain information, you have any ethical reporting or notification responsibilities, which could be adverse to the person who has shared the information, for example, if they share evidence of actual imminent witness or evidence tampering.