Application of the Attorney-Client Privilege to Client Identities

January 21, 2022  |  New York Law Journal

It is a well-known maxim that the attorney-client privilege “extends only to communications and not to facts.” Similarly, it is well established that while the identity of a client typically is not protected from disclosure, the privilege can be invoked to bar revealing a client’s identity when doing so will disclose the substance of a privileged communication. In my latest article for the New York Law Journal, “Application of the Attorney-Client Privilege to Client Identities,” I discuss how these principles frame the conundrum presented when the IRS utilizes the John Doe summons procedure to compel lawyers to disclose their clients’ identities.

Application of the Attorney-Client Privilege to Client Identities (pdf | 158.99 KB)