We all have the right to protect ourselves from physical attacks by others; this is the right of self- defense. In most states, the force we use to protect ourselves must be reasonable under the circumstances, though. The force used must be justified by the degree of threat posed in a given situation. If someone is about to take your life, the use of deadly force (shooting that person with a gun, for example) might be deemed reasonable. If, however, someone in a shopping mall tries to pick your pocket to steal your wallet, you normally do not have a right to shoot the thief, because there was no physical threat to your person.
We also have the right to use reasonable force in the defense of property. In particular, if someone is trespassing on our property or is stealing our property, we have the right to use force to stop the trespassing or prevent the theft; again, the amount of force used must be reasonable. Because human life has a higher value than property, deadly force is normally not allowed in the protection of property unless the thief or trespasser poses a threat to human life.
Depending on the situation, the castle doctrine may come into play. This doctrine is based on the common law concept that you have a right to defend your home (your castle), yourself, your property, or an innocent person from the illegal acts of another. In general, if an intruder is in a home, the legal residents of the home do not have a duty to retreat.
Rather, they have an express right to stand their ground. About half the states have expressed this principle in legislation, but the details of how the principle is applied vary significantly across the states.

As stated in Rule 1.6 of the Model Rules, the rule of confidentiality holds that a lawyer shall not reveal information relating to representation of a client. The exceptions to the client confidentiality rule are:
• Client gives informed consent to the disclosure-For example, an attorney might be drawing up a will for the client, and the client is making his only son the sole beneficiary and leaving nothing to his daughter. If the client says to the attorney, "If my daughter calls to find out if she has inherited anything, go ahead and tell her that she gets nothing," the client has consented to the disclosure.
• Impliedly authorized disclosures-For example, the attorney must provide confidential information to a paralegal in order for him or her to do work on the case.
• Disclosures to prevent harm-For example, when a client who is in jail on charges of murdering his mother-in-law states that he is also going to kill his wife and indicates that he has a plan for doing so.
• Disclosures to ensure compliance with Model Rules-For example, an attorney could seek
confidential legal advice about his or her ethical responsibilities in a particular situation.
• Defending against a client's legal action-For example, if the client sues the attorney for legal malpractice, the attorney may use the client file to defend against the action.
• Disclosures to comply with court order or other law-For example, a court could require an attorney to reveal confidential information about assets that a client had hidden from his wife in a divorce case.

D

A

Paralegals may not give legal advice. Although paralegals often gain a great deal of knowledge in specific areas of the law, only attorneys may give legal advice. Paralegals who give legal advice risk penalties for the unauthorized practice of law (UPL), which is prohibited by the NFPA and NALA codes of ethics (and other legal sources). Whatever legal advice is given to the client either must come directly from the attorney or, if from a paralegal, must reflect exactly (or nearly
exactly) what the attorney said with no modification on the paralegal's part and must be
communicated to the client as directed by the attorney.