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See, e.g., ABA, supra note 20, Model Rule 1.13; Restatement (Third) of the Law Governing Lawyers (2000) sec. 96.Google Scholar

Some have suggested that full disclosure of medical error may result in fewer lawsuits, but there is insufficient evidence to support such a conclusion. See, e.g., Mazor, K. M. Simon, S. R. Gurwitz, J. H., “Communicating with Patients about Medical Errors: A Review of the Literature,” Archieves of Internal Medicine 164 (2004): 1690–1697; Mazor, K. M. et al., “Health Plan Members’ Views about Disclosure of Medical Errors,” Annals of Internal Medicine 140 (2004): 409–418. In fact, one study suggests that while the amount of payment may be lower following full disclosure, the number of lawsuits may increase. Kraman, S. S. Hamm, G., “Risk Management: Extreme Honesty May Be the Best Policy,” Annals of Internal Medicine 131 (1999): 963–967.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

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See ABA, supra note 20, Model Rule 1.7 (stating that “a lawyer shall not represent a client [here the hospital] if the representation involves a concurrent conflict of interest. A concurrent conflict of interest exists if:… (2) there is a significant risk that the representation of one or more clients will be materially limited by the lawyer's responsibilities to another client, a former client or a third person or by a personal interest of the lawyer.” [emphasis added]). If the hospital (client) is committed in ethics consultations to the ethical resolution of cases then the lawyer's representation of the hospital should not be limited by her responsibilities to any of the parties involved in an ethics consultation. However, if the lawyer has corporate authority in a resulting lawsuit, then her representation of the hospital may be compromised by her participation in the ethics consultation, or vice versa.Google Scholar

Many institutions, for example, hire lawyers to serve as compliance officers. This position does not usually require one to engage in the practice of law and in many institutions compliance officers do not have an attorney-client relationship with the institution.Google Scholar

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