THE CONCEPT OF THE CHINESE WALL IN LAW: A MULTI-JURISDICTIONAL APPROACH TO CLIENT CONFIDENTIALITY AND CONFLICT OF INTEREST.

ABSTRACT

Confidentiality is one of the core assets lawyers offer to clients. It assures clients that all information obtained from the client by the lawyer in the pursuit of justice or in commercial transactions will not be disclosed to a third party without the client’s permission. There are instances where lawyers may have two or more clients who are players in the same sector or have the same line of business and, unfortunately, have a dispute. A dilemma is presented; whom does the lawyer represent? What about information gotten from the other client in the course of their previous relationship? Will the knowledge of such privileged information be prejudicial to the current dispute? This dilemma is called a conflict of interest. This article seeks to proffer a perusal of the concept of the Chinese Wall, provide multi-jurisdictional contexts on its applicability, review the position of Nigerian Law, and propose recommendations.

To read the full article, click here

UNILAG Law Review, (2023) Volume 6 Edition 1.