California's Duty of Confidentiality: Is It Time for a Life-Threatening Criminal Act Exception?

In August 2001, the House of Delegates of the American Bar Association (ABA) voted in favor of a revision to the duty of confidentiality contained in the ABA's Model Rules of Professional Conduct, a set of ethics rules that has been adopted in some form by over forty states. Specifically, the House voted to broaden the exception in Model Rule 1.6 that permits a lawyer to reveal confidential information of the client to the extent the lawyer reasonably believes necessary to prevent likely death or substantial bodily harrn. It is uncertain whether that vote will have any effect on the duty of confidentiality in California. This is because California, which has not adopted the Model Rules, has the strictest duty of confidentiality of any state: it is the duty of every lawyer "[t]o maintain inviolate the confidence, and at every peril to himself or herself to preserve the secrets, of his or her client." express exceptions to its duty of confidentiality.