Georgia Supreme Court establishes attorney contact rule for ex-employees

An attorney may contact a former employee of an organization represented by another attorney to seek information for a lawsuit, as long as the contacting attorney provides the correct information, the Georgia Supreme Court said Tuesday.

The state Supreme Court has issued a formal advisory opinion clarifying when an attorney may “properly communicate” with a former employee of an organization without the consent of his attorney. The Opinion replaces a similar Opinion from 1994 which referred to outdated cases that have since been withdrawn.

The new opinion states that such conduct is permissible “provided that the attorney…