My client has threatened to assault someone, and I think they mean it. What should I do?

This is one of the exceptions to the duty of confidentiality.

The Solicitors Rule 2007 states that a client’s confidentiality may be breached if the disclosure of the information is required to prevent imminent serious physical harm to that client or to another person. This is permissive, but doesn’t require any action to be taken. Be reasonably sure that the threat is credible. If in doubt, seek the views of colleagues or a Senior Counsellor under the Queensland Law Society scheme.

This exception permits you to disclose the threat and other confidential details to the police and to the person threatened. This disclosure should be to the party’s solicitor if they have one, so as to avoid a breach of the ‘no-contact rule’ in s 18 or s25 of the Solicitors Rule 2007, depending on the circumstances. Always limit any disclosure to only the information required to deal with the threat.