Dietz v. Doe

We are asked in this case to determine *839if the privilege set forth in RCW 5.60.060(2) forbids the disclosure of the identity of an attorney’s putative client in a civil case when that client may have had knowledge of, or been involved in, a serious automobile accident in which Morgan Dietz was tragically killed. We affirm the general rule in Washington that the identity of an attorney’s client is not privileged under the statute. We also affirm the so-called "legal advice” exception to that general rule: where the disclosure of the client’s identity necessarily reveals the essence of the…