The short answer is no. The North Carolina State Bar recently tackled this issue and made it clear that settlement agreements can’t restrict lawyers from discussing information that’s already public – doing so would violate Rule 5.6 of professional conduct. See NC Formal Ethics Opinion 2023-2.
Why does this matter?
Think about it – if lawyers couldn’t talk about their public cases, how would clients find experienced attorneys? How would the legal community stay informed about important developments? The rule exists to keep lawyers from being “bought off” and to make sure the public has access to lawyers who know their stuff.
What’s Off Limits
Settlement agreements can’t stop lawyers from:
- Talking about facts that are already public
- Discussing published court decisions
- Referencing cases they’ve handled (when the info is public)
- Using their experience to help similar clients
- Sharing knowledge with other attorneys
What’s OK to Keep Quiet
You can still keep plenty of things confidential, like:
- How much money changed hands in the settlement
- Behind-the-scenes details that aren’t public
- Private settlement terms
- Names of parties (if they’re not already public)
The Bottom Line
Lawyers need to be able to:
- Share their knowledge at legal conferences
- Talk shop with colleagues about legal developments
- Use their experience to help new clients
- Tell courts about relevant past cases
Bottom line: public means public. Attempting to make lawyers pretend they don’t know about published court decisions or publicly filed cases just isn’t practical – or legal. The system only works when lawyers can freely discuss and use public precedent.
