Attorneys held exempt from privacy provisions of Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has recently ruled that attorneys are not bound by the privacy and information-sharing requirements of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA). The GLBA requires financial institutions to notify their customers of the possibility that their personal information could be disclosed and allow the customer to opt out of the institution's disclosure practices.
When the Federal Trade Commision sought to apply the act to attorneys engaged in tax, real estate, and bankruptcy practice, the ABA stepped in and filed suit arguing that such application was not intended by the legislature. The D.C Court of Appeals agreed and held that the GLBA does not give the FTC the authority to regulate these types of attorneys.