Advisory Opinion: 1848

Year Issued: 1998

RPC(s): RPC 1.6

Subject: Client confidence or secret; computer system maintained by outside agency

I have been instructed by the Rules of Professional Conduct Committee to respond to your ethics inquiry #1848 concerning the use of outside agents to maintain computer systems.

The Committee has reviewed your inquiry and determined the following: the committee is of the opinion that the stated need for [the parent nonprofit's] technical personnel to access the portion of the computer network that the [legal services agency] shares with [the nonprofit] for maintenance and related purposes is permissible under RPC 1.6 without the consent of clients as long as two requisites are met:

1. [The nonprofit's] employees involved must be instructed and agree that permission is being granted for maintenance of the network only and does not extend to the review of any confidential material on that system; and
2. any acknowledgment you propose to have [the nonprofit's] employees sign must include the preceding instruction along with an agreement that any confidential information they encounter incidental to their technical work may not be disclosed.

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.