Paralegal

Category - Ethics

Jane is an attorney at a mid-size law firm and represents Maxwell Riding Mowers (MRM), which manufactures riding lawn mowers. The president of MRM calls Jane one day and tells her about a newspaper story involving a riding lawn mower that caught on fire and injured the person operating it. The president believes that MRM manufactured the riding lawn mower over three years ago. He also stated that he discovered business records showing that a number of lawn mowers manufactured by MRM left the factory without a safety inspection. The riding lawn mower in the newspaper story was manufactured about the time of the safety inspection records. The president then tells Jane that MRM routinely destroys safety inspection records after three years and that he intends to destroy the records he found, unless Jane says otherwise. Ethically, can Jane advise the president to destroy the records?
  1. Yes, because MRM has not been sued.
  2. Yes, because MRM’s routine practice is to destroy safety inspection records after three years.
  3. No, because the president has admitted that MRM was negligent.
  4. No, because the records have potential evidentiary value.
Explanation
Answer: D - No, because the records have potential evidentiary value. “A lawyer shall not . . . unlawfully alter, destroy or conceal a document or other material having potential evidentiary value. A lawyer shall not counsel or assist another person to do any such act.” Model Rule 3.4(a). Answer D is the best choice because the Model Rule prohibits attorneys from engaging in conduct that destroys documents with evidentiary value or advising others to do so.
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