Can a lawyer be forced to reveal the identity of his/ her client? I have notes here from my MCLE. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to write the name of the lecturer. Sorry, sorry. Anyway, it says here, you can reveal the identity of your client when authorized by the client, when required by law as in, if it involves a future act that is criminal or illegal (if your client tells you he/ she is going to commit a certain crime and has made plans/ arrangements for it), or when it is necessary to collect lawyer’s fees. The cases I have in my notes are Regala vs. Sandiganbayan, and “PCGG case filed vs.
ACCRA dummy corporations of Marcoses.” That’s what I have in my notes. The famous lawyer in that case supposedly told the Court: “I will reveal the identity of my clients if you drop me from the case.” Unquote. I was speedwriting it from a lecture, the text of the decisions wasn’t in the handouts. The majority in a highly divided court ruled that an attorney is more than an agent, he is an officer of the court; that generally a client’s identity is not privileged (not confidential information); and that the exceptions are (that means you cannot reveal in the following instances): If it will implicate the client in a case for which he/ she sought advice; if civil liability will arise; or if the State has no case, therefore it’s not necessary to reveal. And that’s what it says in my notes.
