Court Says Law Firm Didn’t Violate Confidentiality by Reporting Partner’s Drug Use
The Louisiana Supreme Court has ruled a New Orleans law firm didn’t violate confidentiality requirements by reporting a partner’s cocaine use to attorney discipline authorities.
The court said the firm McGlinchey Stafford did not owe lawyer John Clegg the same duty of confidentiality that applied to officials in the Lawyers Assistance Program, the National Law Journal reports. At the same time, the firm was not obligated to report Clegg’s positive tests for cocaine, the court said.
McGlinchey Stafford reported Clegg when he returned to work after completing a rehab program, the story says. A condition of his return was that he sign a five-year recovery agreement, submit to random drug testing and allow the results to be reported to the law firm.
McGlinchey Stafford fired Clegg after he failed two drug tests and reported Clegg after consulting with outside counsel.
The issue arose after state disciplinary authorities accused Clegg of violating ethics rules; he countered that the record should be sealed because evidence of drug use was privileged and confidential.
The court’s July 6 opinion suspended Clegg for one year and one day, but deferred all but six months of the suspension on condition that he continue drug treatment.
