May a legal services organization give information about its clients to a county funding agency?

Plain-English summary

The committee addressed the type of information a legal services organization may be required to furnish to a county funding agency. It explained that DR 4-101(B)(1) bars a lawyer from knowingly revealing a client's confidence or secret except as permitted by DR 4-101(C) and (D), and that the Code makes no distinction between a legal aid office and a private law office. Attorneys employed by a legal services organization must therefore preserve client confidences and secrets to the same extent as any other attorney.

The committee noted that information gathered from a client by a legal aid office is likely to consist of "confidences" and "secrets" as DR 4-101(A) defines them, though whether particular information is privileged is a question of law it could not resolve. While EC 4-3 allows a lawyer to give limited file information to an outside agency for statistical, bookkeeping, accounting, data processing, banking, printing, or other legitimate purposes, that allowance applies only if the client does not direct otherwise.

The committee concluded that client consent remains the key. If the organization advises the client that specific information will be divulged to an outside agency and receives written authorization for that disclosure, transmittal of the information, strictly limited to the data for which consent was received, would be permitted.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in the late 1970s, before The Florida Bar's adoption of the 2006 revisions to the Rules of Professional Conduct. Subsequent rule amendments or later opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance. Verify against current rules before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or requirement mentioned here.

The official PDF of this opinion does not carry a printed issuance date; the opinion number places it in the late 1970s.

Common questions

Q: Can a legal aid office report client information to the agency that funds it?

A: The opinion concluded it may do so only with the consent of the affected clients, because legal aid lawyers owe the same confidentiality duties as any other lawyer.

Q: Does the funder's interest override the client's confidentiality?

A: No. The opinion concluded client consent remains the key, and disclosure is limited to the specific data the client authorizes in writing.

Q: Is administrative or statistical data treated differently?

A: The opinion noted EC 4-3 permits limited file information for legitimate administrative purposes, but only if the client does not direct otherwise.

Background and rules framework

The opinion interprets CPR EC 4-3 and DR 4-101(A) through (D) under Canon 4, the Code of Professional Responsibility's confidentiality provisions. These correspond to Model Rule 1.6 (Florida Rule 4-1.6), which governs a lawyer's duty to protect information relating to the representation.

Citations and references

Rules of Professional Conduct:

• CPR EC 4-3; DR 4-101(A), (B), (C), (D); Canon 4 (Model Rule 1.6)

See also

• FL Bar Ethics Op. 92-1: Legal Aid Assisting Opposing Parties
• FL Bar Ethics Op. 81-8: Disposing of Client Files on Closing a Practice
• FL Bar Ethics Op. 10-3: Confidential Information of a Deceased Client

Source

• Landing page: https://www.floridabar.org/etopinions/etopinion-79-5/
• Original PDF: https://www-media.floridabar.org/uploads/2017/04/FL-Bar-Ethics-Op-79-5-1.pdf

Original opinion text

Reproduced from the official source for research purposes. The linked source is authoritative.

FLORIDA BAR ETHICS OPINION
OPINION 79-5
Advisory ethics opinions are not binding.
A legal services organization may provide certain types of information to a county funding agency only with the consent of the respective clients of the organization.
CPR: EC 4-3, DR 4-101(A), (B), (C), (D); Canon 4
Vice Chairman Mead stated the opinion of the committee:
The issue presented is the type of information a legal services organization may be required to furnish to a county funding agency.
DR 4-101(B)(1) states that, except as permitted under DR 4-101(C) and (D), a lawyer shall not knowingly reveal a confidence or secret of his client. DR 4-101(A) defines "confidence" as information protected by the attorney-client privilege under applicable law, and "secret" as other information gained in the professional relationship that the client has requested be held inviolate or the disclosure of which would be embarrassing or would be likely to be detrimental to the client. DR 4-101(C) permits the lawyer to reveal confidences or secrets only with the consent of the client and only after full disclosure. The Code of Professional Responsibility makes no distinction between a legal aid office and a private law office, and attorneys employed by a legal services organization must preserve the confidences and secrets of their clients to the same extent as any other attorney. Although we cannot make a determination as to what constitutes a "confidence" in a particular case, as deciding what is privileged is a matter of law, information gathered from a client by a legal aid office is likely to consist of "confidences" and "secrets," as defined above, and in such instances a legal aid office must comply with Canon 4.
We note that EC 4-3 allows an attorney to "give limited information from his files to an outside agency necessary for statistical, bookkeeping, accounting, data processing, banking, printing or other legitimate purposes," but only if the client does not otherwise direct. The consent of the client, then, remains the key. Accordingly, it is our opinion that if the legal services organization advises the client that certain specific information will be divulged to an outside agency, and receives from that client written authorization for such disclosure, the transmittal of information, strictly limited to the data for which consent has been received, would be permitted.