In this weekend's NYT Magazine, Randy Cohen, who authors the column The Ethicist, tackled the issue of a trusts and estates lawyer who is asked to prepare a will for a (probably) suicidal client.
As is so often the case, I found Cohen's advice to be rambling and contradictory. For example, Cohen says you cannot attempt to dissuade the client, but you can urge her to speak to family members and health professionals (presumably for the purpose of dissuading her). Cohen says that making sophisticated judgments about the client's state of mind are beyond the lawyer's skills and purview, but if the lawyer thinks the client "seems rational" then by all means just assume she's rational and prepare the will -- and yet if you decide that she's a clearly a danger to herself then you must seek help for her. OK, but which is it: do I make judgments about her state of mind or don't I? Can any of our readers point us to good discussions of this issue? (Cohen does mention the ABA rule on confidentiality and an unspecified Connecticut state bar opinion.)