If someone relies on you for information, it is important not to say something is a certain way if it isn’t. For example, Elizabeth Holmes of Theranos was imprisoned for fraud after telling people the test her company developed could detect illnesses it couldn’t.
What you might not realize is that you also need to be incredibly careful about what you don’t tell people. You might think that keeping schtum and hoping someone never asks about a particular thing is acceptable, but it could land you in legal problems, be that criminal charges or a civil lawsuit.
An example: You are a financial advisor
As a financial advisor, your clients trust you to give them accurate information about financial matters. Let’s say, you convince your clients to put their money in a certain place by showing them a select set of positive data.
What you don’t tell or show them is just how volatile that particular investment or market can be. They don’t realize there is a higher than usual chance the investment could plummet making their investment worthless.
Or perhaps the investment is considered a safe bet and you show them the full set of financial figures. What you don’t tell them is that a family member owns the company you are advising them to invest in. Even though you have been totally transparent about the financial prospects and risk, you have not disclosed everything you should.
Transparency is important in so many areas of life, but there are few where it is a legal obligation. Learning about your defense options could be critical if you are accused of failing to make an adequate disclosure.