Opinion 1180

The Committee reviewed your inquiry regarding the disclosure to a former lawyer employed by your agency of the names of clients represented by that lawyer or represented by other lawyers in your agency while that lawyer was employed with you. The Committee reviewed the specific requests submitted to your agency by the former lawyer, and was of the opinion that nothing in the Rules of Professional Conduct would require you to respond to those requests. By a vote of 8-4, the Committee was of the opinion that if the formerly employed lawyer made inquiry on a specific matter, failure to disclose facts which might alert the formerly employed lawyer to a potential conflict might violate RPC 8.4(d) prohibiting conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice.

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.