Pennsylvania Code › Title 204 - JUDICIAL SYSTEM GENERAL PROVISIONS › Part V - PROFESSIONAL ETHICS AND CONDUCT › Subpart A - PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY › Chapter 81 - RULES OF PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT › Subchapter A - RULES OF PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT › TRANSACTIONS WITH PERSONS OTHER THAN CLIENTS › Rule 4.1 - Truthfulness in Statements to Others

Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 28, July 13, 2024
In the course of representing a client a lawyer shall
						  not knowingly:
(a) make a false
						statement of material fact or law to a third person; or
(b) fail to disclose a material fact to a
						third person when disclosure is necessary to avoid aiding and abetting a
						criminal or fraudulent act by a client, unless disclosure is prohibited by Rule
						1.6.
Comment:
Misrepresentation
(1) A lawyer is required to be truthful when
						dealing with others on a client's behalf, but generally has no affirmative duty
						to inform an opposing party of relevant facts. A misrepresentation can occur if
						the lawyer incorporates or affirms a statement of another person that the
						lawyer knows is false. Misrepresentations can also occur by partially true but
						misleading statements or omissions that are the equivalent of affirmative false
						statements. For dishonest conduct that does not amount to a false statement or
						for misrepresentations by a lawyer other than in the course of representing a
						client, see Rule 8.4.
Statements of Fact
(2) This Rule refers to statements of fact.
						Whether a particular statement should be regarded as one of fact can depend on
						the circumstances. Under generally accepted conventions in negotiation, certain
						types of statements ordinarily are not taken as statements of material fact.
						Estimates of price or value placed on the subject of a transaction and a
						party's intentions as to an acceptable settlement of a claim are ordinarily in
						this category, and so is the existence of an undisclosed principal except where
						nondisclosure of the principal would constitute fraud.
Crime or Fraud by Client
(3) Under Rule
						1.2(d), a lawyer
						is prohibited from counseling or assisting a client in conduct that the lawyer
						knows is criminal or fraudulent. Paragraph (b) states a specific application of
						the principle set forth in Rule
						1.2(d) and
						addresses the situation where a client's crime or fraud takes the form of a lie
						or misrepresentation. Ordinarily, a lawyer can avoid assisting a client's crime
						or fraud by withdrawing from the representation. Sometimes it may be necessary
						for the lawyer to give notice of the fact of withdrawal and to disaffirm an
						opinion, document, affirmation or the like. In extreme cases, substantive law
						may require a lawyer to disclose information relating to the representation to
						avoid being deemed to have assisted the client's crime or fraud. If the lawyer
						can avoid assisting a client's crime or fraud only by disclosing this
						information, then under paragraph (b) the lawyer is required to do so, unless
						the disclosure is prohibited by Rule
						1.6. Rule
						1.6 permits a lawyer to disclose
						information when necessary to prevent or rectify certain crimes or frauds. See
						Rule 1.6(c). If
						disclosure is permitted by Rule
						1.6, then such disclosure is
						required under this Rule, but only to the extent necessary to avoid assisting a
						client crime or fraud.