Advisory Opinion: 1872

Year Issued: 1999

RPC(s): RPC 1.6

Subject: Client confidence or secret; submission of billing records to third party billing auditing company

The inquiry concerned the ethical considerations of a request from an insurance company to an insured’s defense counsel to submit the counsel’s bills to an outside auditing company. The inquiring lawyer asks at what point does the lawyer’s normal practice, i.e., telephone calls to clients regarding liability or record review, become confidential information that is protected by RPC 1.6.

The inquiring lawyer is referred to the definitions of confidences and secrets, as well as RPC 1.6, with an explanation that the committee is unable to make a general determination that any specific information is confidential without more information.

[Editor's note: See Formal Opinion 195.]

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.