Supreme Judicial Court Rules  Rules of Professional Conduct Rule 4.1: Truthfulness in statements to others

In the course of representing a client a lawyer shall not knowingly:

(a) make a false statement of material fact or law to a third person; or

(b) fail to disclose a material fact to a third person when disclosure is necessary to avoid assisting a criminal or fraudulent act by a client, unless disclosure is prohibited by Rule 1.6.

Misrepresentation 

[1] A lawyer is required to be truthful when dealing with others on a client’s behalf, but generally has no affirmative duty to inform an opposing party of relevant facts. A misrepresentation can occur if the lawyer incorporates or affirms a statement of another person that the lawyer knows is false. Misrepresentations can also occur by partially true but misleading statements or omissions that are the equivalent of affirmative false statements. For dishonest conduct that does not amount to a false statement or for misrepresentations by a lawyer other than in the course of representing a client, see Rule 8.4.

Statements of Fact 

[2] This Rule refers to statements of fact. Whether a particular statement should be regarded as one of fact can depend on the circumstances. Under generally accepted conventions in negotiation, certain types of statements ordinarily are not taken as statements of material fact. Estimates of price or value placed on the subject of a transaction and a party’s intentions as to an acceptable settlement of a claim are ordinarily in this category, and so is the existence of an undisclosed principal except where nondisclosure of the principal would constitute fraud. Lawyers should be mindful of their obligations under applicable law to avoid criminal and tortious misrepresentation. 

Crime or Fraud by Client 

[3] Under Rule 1.2(d), a lawyer is prohibited from counseling or assisting a client in conduct that the lawyer knows is criminal or fraudulent. Paragraph (b) states a specific application of the principle set forth in Rule 1.2(d) and addresses the situation where a client’s crime or fraud takes the form of a lie or misrepresentation. Paragraph (b) recognizes that substantive law may require a lawyer to disclose certain information to avoid being deemed as having assisted the client’s crime or fraud. In paragraph (b) the word “assisting” refers to that level of assistance which would render a third party liable for another’s crime or fraud, i.e., assistance sufficient to render one liable as an aider or abettor under criminal law or as a joint tortfeasor under principles of tort and agency law. The requirement of disclosure in this paragraph is not intended to broaden what constitutes unlawful assistance under criminal, tort or agency law, but instead is intended to ensure that these Rules do not countenance behavior by a lawyer that other law marks as criminal or tortious. 

[4] Paragraph (b) requires a lawyer in certain circumstances to disclose material facts to a third person “unless disclosure is prohibited by Rule 1.6.” Rule 1.6(a) prohibits disclosure of confidential information relating to the representation of a client unless the client consents or the disclosure is impliedly authorized to carry out the representation. Rule 1.6(b), however, gives the lawyer permission to disclose confidential information without client consent in certain circumstances. For example, under Rule 1.6(b)(2), a lawyer may reveal confidential information to prevent a criminal or fraudulent act that is likely to result in substantial injury to the property of another. If Rule 1.6(b) gives a lawyer permission to make disclosure, then disclosure is not prohibited by Rule 1.6, and disclosure under paragraph (b) of this Rule is mandatory. If Rule 1.6(b) does not give permission to disclose – as in the previous example when the injury from a criminal or fraudulent act is not “substantial” – then the disclosure requirement of Rule 4.1(b) does not apply. See Rule 1.6, Comment 6A. Even if Rule 1.6 prohibits disclosure, the lawyer may have other duties, such as a duty to withdraw from the representation. See Rule 1.2(d) and Rule 1.16(a)(1).