Advisory Opinion: 1036

Year Issued: 1986

RPC(s): RPC 1.6

Subject: Client confidence or secret; disclosure of client names to bank to obtain financing

The Committee was of the opinion that if a law firm wanted to pledge its accounts receivable to obtain bank financing, and the bank insists upon the disclosure of the names of the clients whose accounts are being pledged, RPC 1.6 would impose a burden upon the lawyer to determine that the disclosure of the lawyer-client relationship and the status of the client's account receivable were not secrets. Therefore the Committee was of the opinion that the lawyer would be required to make inquiry of the client prior to disclosing such information, and have the client's informed consent to reveal such information.

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.