Question: May Attorney report to law enforcement authorities a purported prospective client who contacted Attorney with the apparent objective of defrauding the lawyer by sending Attorney a bogus check for deposit in Attorney’s trust account?
Answer: If Attorney has formed a client-lawyer relationship with the individual, Rule 4-1.6 prohibits disclosure of the suspected trust account scam unless the client gives informed consent, Attorney is required by law or a court order to disclose the information, or another exception to Rule 4-1.6 exists. Missouri has no crime-fraud exception in Rule 4-1.6. Whether a client-lawyer relationship exists is a question of fact and law outside the scope of the Rules of Professional Conduct. If the individual is a prospective client under Rule 4-1.18, Attorney may not use or disclose information gained in the consultation, except as Rule 4-1.9 would permit with respect to information of a former client. If no client-lawyer relationship was formed and the individual does not qualify as a prospective client under Rule 4-1.18, Attorney has no duty of confidentiality regarding the information and is free to report the information to appropriate law enforcement authorities.

Informal Opinions are ethics advisory opinions issued by the Office of Legal Ethics Counsel to members of the Bar about Rule 4 (Rules of Professional Conduct), Rule 5 (Complaints and Proceedings Thereon), and Rule 6 (Fees to Practice Law) pursuant to Missouri Supreme Court Rule 5.30(c). Written summaries of select Informal Opinions are published for informational purposes as determined by the Advisory Committee of the Supreme Court of Missouri pursuant to Rule 5.30(c). Informal opinion summaries are advisory in nature and are not binding. These opinions are published as an educational service and do not constitute legal advice.

To request an Informal Opinion, please visit: https://mo-legal-ethics.org/for lawyers/requesting-an-informal-advisory-opinion/.

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