Tainted Law

I was sitting in class today half taking notes, half reading the papers, when I heard my professor say the words "Taint Shopping." So I decided to tune in.

In the legal community there are legal ethics laws that guide the behavior of lawyers. [Insert douche-y lawyer joke here] Yes, lawyers have ethics. If a lawyer breaks these laws someone can file a complaint and try to bring sanctions on the lawyer. This may result in a lawsuit, a fine, disbarment, etc… One of these rules is about duty of care, not only to your clients but to prospective clients as well. That is to say that if I’m a lawyer and you come into my office and tell me all these detailed facts about your case, and I give you some shi*ty advice which then causes you to lose your case, I can be in trouble. Furthermore, if I give you anything that can be construed as advice and then I represent someone who is in opposition to you, or has some conflict with your case, you can try to get me kicked off the oppositions case for violating conflict of interest laws. Since you have already told me intimate details about your case, I am now “tainted.” This has developed into a legal strategy, where an individual or company will run around emailing or meeting with lawyers revealing crucial details in effort to prevent them from litigating against them.

This phenomena is known as "taint shopping."

Remember the scene in Soparano’s where Carmela wants to get a divorce, so Tony runs out and talks to all the attorneys in the area, he is taint shopping. By spilling his guts to everyone, no one will represent Carm because of potential conflict of interest lawsuits.

I love law.