Can a lawyer who learned a birth mother's identity while handling an adoption later disclose that information to the adoptive parents when they ask for it?

Plain-English summary

While representing a husband and wife in the adoption of a child, a lawyer learned the identity and whereabouts of the birth mother. Some years later, the adoptive parents ask the lawyer to disclose that information. The opinion asks whether the lawyer may provide it.

The opinion answers yes, qualified. It notes that under Oregon law, court records of adoption must generally be sealed (citing ORS 432.223 and ORS 432.250), with a statutory exception allowing disclosure of the original birth certificate to an adopted person over 21. But the question here concerns information already in the lawyer's own file.

The opinion concludes that if the lawyer has the pertinent information in the lawyer's file, the information was not obtained in violation of law, and the disclosure would not violate the law, the lawyer's fiduciary obligation to the clients appears to require disclosure on request. It anchors that duty in Oregon RPC 1.2(a), under which a lawyer abides by the client's decisions about the objectives of representation and may take impliedly authorized action, and RPC 1.4(a), under which a lawyer keeps a client reasonably informed and promptly complies with reasonable requests for information.

In practice

The opinion holds that, under Oregon RPC 1.2(a) and RPC 1.4(a) as they stood at the time of the opinion, a lawyer's duty to keep clients informed can require turning over information in the lawyer's file to the client on request, and the general sealing of adoption court records does not by itself bar disclosing information the lawyer already lawfully holds. The opinion conditions the duty on the information being lawfully obtained and the disclosure being lawful. Verify the current text of Oregon RPC 1.2 and RPC 1.4 and the cited adoption statutes before relying on any specific point.

Common questions

Q: My former adoption clients want the birth mother's information I learned during the case. Can I give it to them?

A: Yes, qualified. The opinion concludes the lawyer's fiduciary duty appears to require disclosure on request if the information is in the lawyer's file, was lawfully obtained, and disclosing it would not violate the law.

Q: Doesn't the sealing of adoption records prevent this?

A: The opinion treats the sealing of court records separately from information already in the lawyer's file. It conditions disclosure on the information having been lawfully obtained and the disclosure being lawful, rather than treating the sealing statutes as an automatic bar.

Q: What rule requires me to share file information with my client?

A: Per the opinion, RPC 1.4(a) requires keeping the client reasonably informed and promptly complying with reasonable requests for information, and RPC 1.2(a) requires abiding by the client's decisions about the objectives of the representation.

Background and rules framework

The opinion interprets Oregon RPC 1.2(a) (scope of representation and client decisions) and RPC 1.4(a) (communication with the client), corresponding to Model Rules 1.2 and 1.4. It reads those duties against Oregon's adoption-records statutes, ORS 432.223, 432.250, and 432.228, treating the lawyer's file information as distinct from sealed court records.

Citations and references

Rules of Professional Conduct:

• Oregon RPC 1.2(a) / Model Rule 1.2 (scope of representation)
• Oregon RPC 1.4(a) / Model Rule 1.4 (communication)

Statutes:

• ORS 432.223; ORS 432.250 (sealing of adoption court records)
• ORS 432.228 (disclosure of original birth certificate to an adopted person over 21)

Other opinions cited:

• OSB Formal Ethics Op. No. 2005-26 (lawyer as agent)

See also

• OSB Ethics Op. 2005-26: Endorsing a Check on a Client's Behalf
• OSB Ethics Op. 2005-70: A Lawyer's Duties When Changing Firms

Source

• Landing page: https://www.osbar.org/ethics/toc.html
• Original PDF: https://www.osbar.org/_docs/ethics/2005-76.pdf