Use of Tester in an Investigation that Serves a Public Interest
Adopted: July 17, 2015
Opinion rules that a private lawyer may supervise an investigation involving misrepresentation if done in pursuit of a public interest and certain conditions are satisfied.
Note:
This opinion does not apply to the conduct of a government lawyer. As explained in comment [1] to Rule 8.4, the prohibition in Rule 8.4(a) against knowingly assisting another to violate the Rules of Professional Conduct or violating the Rules of Professional Conduct through the acts of another does not prohibit a government lawyer from providing legal advice to investigatory personnel relative to any action such investigatory personnel are lawfully entitled to take.
In addition, this opinion is limited to private lawyers who advise, direct, or supervise conduct involving dishonesty, deceit, or misrepresentation as opposed to a lawyer who personally participates in such conduct.
Inquiry:
Attorney A was retained by Client C to investigate and, if appropriate, file a lawsuit against Client C’s former employer, E. Employer E employed Client C as a janitor and required him to work 60 hours per week. E paid Client C a salary of $400 per week. Attorney A believes that because his client’s employment was a “non-exempt position” under the North Carolina Wage and Hour Act, the payment method used by E was unlawful. Instead, E should have paid Client C at least $7.25 (minimum wage) per hour for each of the first 40 hours Client C worked per week, and at least $10.88 (time and a half) for each hour in excess of 40 (overtime) that Client C worked per week.
Prior to filing a lawsuit, Attorney A wants to retain a private investigator to investigate E’s wage payment practices. The private investigator suggests using lawful, but misleading or deceptive tactics, to obtain the information Attorney A seeks. For example, the private investigator may pose as a person interested in being hired by E in the same capacity as Client C to see if E violates the North Carolina Wage and Hour Act when compensating the investigator.
Prior to filing a lawsuit, may Attorney A retain a private investigator who will misrepresent his identity and purpose when conducting an investigation into E’s wage payment practices?
Opinion:
The Rules of Professional Conduct are rules of reason and there are instances when the use of misrepresentation does not violate Rule 8.4(a)’s prohibition on the use of third parties to engage in conduct involving misrepresentation. See Rule 0.2, Scope, and Rule 8.4(a) and (c).
Other jurisdictions have interpreted their Rules of Professional Conduct to permit lawyer supervision of investigations involving misrepresentation in circumstances similar to that set out in the instant inquiry. For example, the bars of Arizona and Maryland permit lawyers to use “testers” who employ misrepresentation to collect evidence of discriminatory practices. Ariz. State Bar Comm. on the Rules of Prof’l Conduct, Op. 99-11 (1999); Maryland Bar Ass'n, Op. 2006-02 (2005). These ethics opinions conclude that testers are necessary to prove discriminatory practices and, therefore, serve an important public policy. The State Bar of Arizona opined that it would be inconsistent with the intent of the Rules of Professional Conduct to interpret the rules to prohibit a lawyer from supervising the activity of testers. Ariz. State Bar Comm. on the Rules of Prof’l Conduct, Op. 99-11 (1999).
The objective of Rule 8.4 is set out in comment [3] to the rule: “The purpose of professional discipline for misconduct is not punishment, but to protect the public, the courts, and the legal profession.” The challenge is to balance the public’s interest in having unlawful activity fully investigated and possibly thereby stopped, with the public’s and the profession’s interest in ensuring that lawyers conduct themselves with integrity and honesty. In an attempt to balance these two important interests, we conclude that a lawyer may advise, direct, or supervise an investigation involving pretext under certain limited circumstances.
In the pursuit of a legitimate public interest such as in investigations of discrimination in housing, employment and accommodations, patent and intellectual property infringement, and the production and sale of contaminated and harmful products, a lawyer may advise, direct, and supervise the use of misrepresentation (1) in lawful efforts to obtain information on actionable violations of criminal law, civil law, or constitutional rights; (2) if the lawyer’s conduct is otherwise in compliance with the Rules of Professional Conduct;1 (3) the lawyer has a good faith belief that there is a reasonable possibility that a violation of criminal law, civil law, or constitutional rights has taken place, is taking place, or will take place in the foreseeable future;2 (4) misrepresentations are limited to identity or purpose; and (5) the evidence sought is not reasonably available through other means. A lawyer may not advise, direct, or supervise the use of misrepresentation to pursue the purely personal interests of the lawyer’s client, where there is no public policy purpose, such as the interests of the principal in a family law matter.
If Attorney A concludes that each of the above conditions is satisfied, he may retain a private investigator to look into E’s wage payment practices, which investigation may include misrepresentations as to identity and purpose.
Endnotes
- Rule 4.2(a) prohibits a lawyer from communicating about the subject of the representation with a person the lawyer knows to be represented by another lawyer in the matter unless the other lawyer consents or the communication is authorized by law or court order. A lawyer may not violate this rule through the acts of another, including an investigator. Rule 8.4(a).
- Government evidence or data that supports the conclusion that random testing will uncover illegal discriminatory conduct is a sufficient basis for a lawyer’s “good faith belief” under this condition. For example, federal funding and contracts for Legal Aid of North Carolina, Inc.’s (LANC) Fair Housing Project require the performance of systematic fair housing testing to uncover patterns, practices, barriers, and other more subtle forms of unlawful housing discrimination in North Carolina. Studies and evidence developed by US Department of Housing and Urban Development confirm that systematic fair housing testing is an important tool to detect housing discrimination. A LANC lawyer may rely on such evidence to form a good faith belief that there is a reasonable possibility that a violation of fair housing law has, is, or will take place and that random audits by “testers” supervised by the lawyer will uncover such conduct.