Building Chinese Walls in Virginia: Should Virginia Recognize the Chinese Wall Defense to Vicarious Disqualification?

A Chinese wall is essentially a screening mechanism set up within an institution to act as an "impermeable barrier to intrafirm exchange of confidential information." To prevent inadvertent "leakage" of confidential information, a number of precautions may be taken, including the establishment of organizational and physical structures designed to separate those who possess information from those who should not have it." Although of relatively new use in the legal profession, this type of "wall" is not new. Banks and securities firms, in an effort to protect their clients' financial confidences, routinely erect Chinese walls.