"
MARYLAND STATE BAR ASSOCIATION, INC.
COMMITTEE ON ETHICS
ETHICS DOCKET NO. 1988-62
Confidences and Secrets: Propriety of Disclosing Former Client's Name, Address and Date of Birth to Authorities
Your letter indicates that you have been asked by a Baltimore County Robbery Detective to provide him with the name, address, and date of birth of a former client of yours who you were seen talking to in the Baltimore County Circuit Court. You indicate that your meeting and conversation with your former client were strictly by chance and that your representation of him had concluded in the Spring of 1987. Your inquiry requests our opinion as to whether you may reveal this personal information regarding the former client without violating the rules of confidentiality.
Rule 1.6 of the Maryland Rules of Professional Conduct states:
RULE 1.6 Confidentiality of Information
(a) A lawyer shall not reveal information relating to representation of a client unless the client consents after consultation, except for disclosures that are impliedly authorized in order to carry out the representation, and except as stated in paragraph (b).
(b) A lawyer may reveal such information to the extent the lawyer reasonably believes necessary:
(1) to prevent the client from committing a criminal or fraudulent act that the lawyer believes is likely to result in death or substantial bodily harm or in substantial injury to the financial interests or property of another;
(2) to rectify the consequences of a client's criminal or fraudulent act in the furtherance of which the lawyer's services were used;
(3) to establish a claim or defense on behalf of the lawyer in a controversy between the lawyer and the client, or to establish a defense to a criminal charge, civil claim, or disciplinary complaint against the lawyer based upon conduct in which the client was involved or to respond to allegations in any proceedings concerning the lawyer's representation of the client.
(4) to comply with these Rules, a court order or other law.
It is the opinion of the Committee that Rule 1.6(a) is applicable to your situation and that without the consent of your client after consultation, you should not reveal his name, address and date of birth to the Baltimore County Robbery Detective. It would not appear from the information you have given that any of the exceptions set forth in subsection (b) of Rule 1.6 would apply. The comments to Rule 1.6 indicate that the duty of confidentiality continues after the client-lawyer relationship has terminated, and refers to Rule 1.9 dealing with Conflict of Interest: Former Client.
The Code comparison set forth also relates that, ""Rule 1.6 imposes confidentiality on information relating to the representation even if it is acquired before or after the relationship existed. It does not require the client to indicate information that is to be confidential, or permit the law to speculate whether particular information might be embarrassing or detrimental.""
The Committee would therefore suggest that you do not release the information requested.
"