Opinion 1813

The Committee researched and reviewed your inquiry concerning the correspondence between lawyers containing information about more than one client and determined the following:

It is not the function of the Committee to issue opinions about the conduct of lawyers other than the inquiring lawyer. RPC l.6 sets forth a lawyer's duty to protect client confidences and secrets. Ordinarily, the identity of a lawyer's client is not privileged information. See Dietz v. Doe, 131 Wn. 2d 835, 846, 935 P.2d 611 (1997); Seventh Elect Church v. Rogers, 1102 Wn. 2d 527, 531, 688 P.2d 506 (1984). To the extent that you wish to pass your opposing lawyer's letter on to your client and you believe that the letter contains information about another client which would qualify as a "secret" under RPC 1.6, then you should redact the information from the copy of the letter you send to your client.

Advisory Opinions are provided for the education of the Bar and reflect the opinion of the Committee on Professional Ethics (CPE) or its predecessors. Advisory Opinions are provided pursuant to the authorization granted by the Board of Governors, but are not individually approved by the Board and do not reflect the official position of the Bar association. Laws other than the Washington State Rules of Professional Conduct may apply to the inquiry. The Committee's answer does not include or opine about any other applicable law other than the meaning of the Rules of Professional Conduct.