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What Happens When Your Client Threatens to Blow Up a Government Agency?

By Lynne DeVenny

A news story out of Oxford, Mississippi illustrates one of the rare times that a lawyer or paralegal can reveal a client confidence: to prevent reasonably certain death or substantial bodily harm. Rule 1.6, ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct.

The Upset vs. the Homicidal Client

Most of us deal with angry or emotional clients on a weekly (if not a daily) basis. When we have to deliver bad news, calls can get difficult, with client reactions ranging from tears to cursing, or both. It's not unusual for a client to threaten to personally show up at the adjudicating party's office and give that person an earful for not ruling in the client's favor. Most of the time it's just emotional venting, and there's no real intent on the client's part to actually do anything further.

But earlier this month, an unidentified Utah legal assistant had a 30-minute telephone conversation with a client who allegedly threatened to blow up his local Social Security office in Mississippi and himself, after receiving a denial of benefits.

The news brief doesn't specifically say what the legal assistant did next. Did she call the authorities herself? Or did she immediately relay the client's threats to her supervising attorney or another attorney with the firm, who then made the decision to notify the authorities? The client has since been taken into custody, with a mental health evaluation pending. He's facing federal charges that he threatened to assault and murder government officials.

Keep the Client Talking

So when does a paralegal make the decision that a client's threat of violence is real and should be revealed? In most cases, she does not. The supervising or managing attorney makes that decision. While paralegals should carefully document all conversations with clients for the supervising attorney's review, any threat of bodily harm made by a client, even as a joke, should be treated as emergent and brought to the attention of one (or more) of the firm's attorneys immediately.

This news story made me stop and think - how would I handle a client who threatens to hurt or kill himself or someone else? With today's office technology, including hands free headsets and speaker phones, I'd make every effort to keep the client talking and to get one of our firm's attorneys on the call, both to hear the conversation and to get the information necessary to make a decision as to what happens next. If possible, I'd have the attorney take over the call and talk to our client directly.

If I couldn't get one of our attorneys on the call, I would make sure that I informed all of them (we're a small firm) of the situation immediately after the call. Informing them and getting guidance, whether in person or by any of the other means I have to contact them 24/7, would take priority over anything else. If I needed to, I would not hesitate to interrupt an attorney who was engaged elsewhere to assess the situation.

What would you do if faced with this situation - or what did you do when you were faced with this situation?

Source: TMCnet.com

Full post as published by Practical Paralegalism on September 04, 2010 (boomark / email).