"My boss told me not to speak to lawyers"

Stay long enough in this profession and, especially with a general litigation practice such as mine, you get into all sorts of situations.




The latest situation that had me chuckling in disbelief occurred in the course of a consumer matter in which I had to obtain information on behalf of the consumer. The information was not top secret company information, but information about an item that belongs to my client that was supposedly traded in to set off repair costs.

Only after an employee of the supplier had told me that no information about the trade-in was to be found on record did the service provider email me to tell me that he has been informed that that employee that gave me the information was not allowed to speak to lawyers.

This is not the first time I encounter this. Here in my home town the receptionists at a well-known hospital refuse to sign for any documents that they know to come from a lawyer. The only reason they have for this is that their employers told them not to.

Well... you as an employee should probably not put your job in jeopardy by disobeying your employer, but that kind of message tells me that your employer does have something to hide.
And trust me- whatever is hidden, can be found. Attorneys have different means of obtaining information needed for legal proceedings if the holder of that information does not want to give it up freely.

A while earlier- before this incident with the consumer matter- I was also dismissed from a meeting between two parties in a completely non-litigious matter. Well- I have not suspected any foul play on the offending party's part before the meeting started, but when I was not allowed to attend I immediately knew that something was amiss. What the chairperson of the meeting did not consider was that there was already enough circumstantial evidence of foul play on their part that would not have been taken into account had I been allowed to take part in the meeting. Nonetheless- I have been able to handle the matter regardless of not having been allowed at the meeting.

But it is not only with people from outside your workplace that employees get told not to give any information to lawyers. It is not uncommon to find a clause in some employment contracts that stipulates that the contract and its contents are not to be discussed with anyone outside the workplace. Well- as far as it concerns protecting your employer's private information that is all in order, but when it comes to you seeking legal advice about your circumstances at work or maybe even a labour dispute your employer is not allowed to bar you from giving your attorney all information that is needed to handle your matter in the most effective way possible.

I'd like to close this post with a friendly warning. If we ever meet and you tell me that your employer does not allow you to give me any information, that shall not be the end of his troubles. They will but only begin then...