Oregon Rejects Fiduciary Exception

The Oregon Supreme Court held that a law firm's communications with in-house counsel were protected from disclosure from the now-former client.

The court reversed an order of production based on the so-called "fiduciary exception" to the attorney-client privilege

We conclude that OEC 503(4) was intended as a complete enumeration of the exceptions to the attorney-client privilege. Insofar as that list does not include a “fiduciary exception,” that exception does not exist in Oregon, and the trial court erred in relying on that exception to compel production of communications that otherwise fell within the general scope of the privilege. It follows that the trial court’s order must be vacated to the extent that it orders production of communications that were otherwise within the privilege. 

 

The litigation involved a dispute between Davis Wright Tremaine and a former client. (Mike Frisch)