Ninth Circuit clears way for monetary damages in United flight attendants' suit over weight restrictions. Supreme Ct. to hear privacy cases about disclosure of intercepted e-mails, phone calls. Eleventh Circuit issues landmark ruling on punitive damages. Woman fired for sexual orientation can not bring Title VII suit against religious institution.
Case pits lawyer's conscience against duty of confidentiality.
Tacoma, Wash., attorney Douglas Schafer is facing disciplinary charges with his state bar for revealing the confidences of a client. Schafer reported the corruption of a judge based on information provided by his client, who participated in the corruption. Schafer says that lawyers should not be bound by rules when they conflict with a greater good-the protection of judicial integrity. Disciplinary Counsel Barrie Althoff counters that the attorney-client privilege is a sacred trust that all lawyers vow to maintain. The rule of law must take precedence over an individual's sense of justice.