Advisory Opinion: 942

Year Issued: 1985

RPC(s): RPC 1.6; 3.3(a)(2)

Subject: Client confidence or secret; disclosure to court

[The question concerned a client who obtained an inheritance after filing a bankruptcy petition, who refused to disclose the inheritance to the court despite the lawyer's advice to do so.] Regarding your inquiry concerning refusal by a client to disclose information to a bankruptcy court and whether the lawyer is required to disclose the information over the client's objections, the Committee was of the opinion that RPC 1.6 makes such information a client confidence and that, pursuant to RPC 3.3(a)(2), a lawyer could not disclose that information to the court if to do so would be prohibited by RPC 1.6. The Committee noted that if the failure by the client to disclose the information to the court constitutes a crime, then RPC 1.6(b)(1) would permit the lawyer to reveal confidential information to the extent reasonably necessary to prevent the client from committing the crime.

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.