Handling client requests to conceal unfavourable facts
Launch library · evergreen read
Clients sometimes ask, whether directly or indirectly, for a practitioner to help keep an unfavourable fact out of the public record entirely. Handling this well starts with being genuinely honest about the limits of what is actually possible and appropriate, rather than quietly agreeing and hoping the underlying issue simply never surfaces on its own.
There is a meaningful difference between choosing not to volunteer every single detail and actively concealing or misrepresenting a material fact once directly asked about it. Practitioners who blur that line put both their own professional credibility and their client's long term reputation at genuine, serious risk if the concealment is later discovered by anyone.
The more useful conversation with a client is usually about how to present a difficult fact honestly and in fair context, rather than how to hide it from view entirely. A well handled disclosure, even of something genuinely unflattering, tends to do far less lasting damage than a concealment that eventually comes to light regardless.