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43 Gonz. L. Rev. 327 (2007-2008)
Confidentiality and Candor under the 2006 Washington Rules of Professional Conduct

handle is hein.journals/gonlr43 and id is 333 raw text is: Confidentiality and Candor under the 2006 Washington
Rules of Professional Conduct
Brooks Holland*
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I.  INTRODUCTION    .................................................................................................. 327
H1.  B ACKGROUND    ................................................................................................... 329
Im .  R ULE  1.3: D ILIGENCE  ....................................................................................... 332
IV.  RULE   1.6: CONFIDENTIALITY    ........................................................................... 337
A .   Confi dentiality  .......................................................................................... 339
B.   Disclosure of Confidential Information .................................................. 340
1.  D iscretionary  D isclosure ................................................................... 341
2.  M  andatory  D isclosure  ....................................................................... 343
a. When is the duty to report triggered? ........................................ 349
b. What is the scope of this duty, once triggered? .......... 352
c. Will otherwise privileged information disclosed under
2006 RPC 1.6(b)(1) remain privileged? ................................... 355
d. Will lawyers who fail to report a client's threat become
liable in tort to victims of client violence? ............................... 359
V   R ULE  3.3 : C ANDOR  ........................................................................................... 361
V I.  C ON CLUSION  ..................................................................................................... 366
I. INTRODUCTION
On September 1, 2006, new Washington State Rules of Professional Conduct
(RPC) became effective. The 2006 RPC represent a several year effort by the
Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) Ethics 2003 Committee to update the
RPC, which had not been updated since 1985.1 The 2006 RPC, as ultimately
*     Assistant Professor of Law, Gonzaga University School of Law. J.D., magna cum
laude, 1994, Boston University School of Law. Danial Gividen and Katherine Georger, law students
at Gonzaga University School of Law, supplied outstanding research assistance. Katharine Tylee and
other members of the Gonzaga Law Review also provided excellent feedback. Early drafts of this
article were presented at CLE programs sponsored by the Washington State Office of Public
Defense, the Washington State Defenders Association, and the Washington State Tria Lawyer's
Association. I am thankful to the many lawyers who supplied insightful comments and questions
during these CLE programs. I am also thankful to Gonzaga University School of Law for its financial
support of this research project.  Unless noted otherwise, the anecdotal observations and
hypotheticals presented in this article draw on the author's experience as a public defender in New
York City from 1994-2005, and current criminal appellate practice in the Ninth Circuit Court of
Appeals.
1.    See Douglas Ende, Supreme Court Adopts Ethics 2003 Amendments to Rules of

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