An attorney represented the owner of an art gallery and a publisher. Is it proper to disclose the names of the clients to the grand jury?

An attorney represented the owner of an art gallery and a publisher. Is it proper to disclose the names of the clients to the grand jury?

• A. No, because client identities are privileged.
• B. Yes, because the grand jury needs information about clients.
• C. No, because the identities are confidential.
• D. Yes, because under the circumstances neither client's identity is privileged.

Answer: (D)

The key idea is that the attorney-client privilege protects only communications between lawyer and client for the purpose of seeking or receiving legal advice, not the client’s mere identity. Disclosing who the attorney represents does not reveal any confidential legal advice or the substance of a protected conversation, so the names themselves aren’t privileged. Here, the attorney represents two distinct clients—a gallery owner and a publisher. Providing the grand jury with the clients’ names does not disclose confidential communications. Therefore, under the circumstances, the identities are not privileged, and the disclosure is proper. In other words, the privilege protects what was said, not who is being represented. If the grand jury asked for the content of legal advice or specific communications, then privilege would come into play and the attorney might object. But simply naming the clients does not invoke privilege.

The key idea is that the attorney-client privilege protects only communications between lawyer and client for the purpose of seeking or receiving legal advice, not the client’s mere identity. Disclosing who the attorney represents does not reveal any confidential legal advice or the substance of a protected conversation, so the names themselves aren’t privileged.

Here, the attorney represents two distinct clients—a gallery owner and a publisher. Providing the grand jury with the clients’ names does not disclose confidential communications. Therefore, under the circumstances, the identities are not privileged, and the disclosure is proper.

In other words, the privilege protects what was said, not who is being represented. If the grand jury asked for the content of legal advice or specific communications, then privilege would come into play and the attorney might object. But simply naming the clients does not invoke privilege.