Chinese Wall

plural Chinese Walls · alternative Chinese wall · alternative Chinese firewall

1. idiomaticAn information barrier within an organization, designed to ensure internal confidentiality; frequently used to prevent conflicts of interest.

   2 more examples

   I concur in the opinion of Justice Haning, but write separately to comment on the apparently widespread use of the term "Chinese Wall" to describe the type of screening mechanism discussed in this case. While our opinion uses the term "screen," both the parties and the trial court used the term "Chinese Wall," which seems to have become a term of art. I write to express my profound objection to the use of this phrase in this context.

   1988. Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Co. v.Superior Court 200, Cal.App.3d 272, 293-294, 245 Cal.Rptr. 873, 887-888

   The enthusiasm for handy phrases of verbal shorthand is understandable. Occasionally, however, lawyers and judges use a term which is singularly inappropriate. "Chinese Wall" is one such piece of legal flotsam which should be emphatically abandoned. The term has an ethnic focus which many would consider a subtle form of linguistic discrimination. Certainly, the continued use of the term would be insensitive to the ethnic identity of the many persons of Chinese descent.

   1980. The Chinese Wall Defense to Law Firm Disqualification 128 U.Pa.L.Rev. 677

   Synonyms: ethical screen, ethical wall

plural Chinese walls

1. Alternative letter-case form of Chinese Wall.