Law Firm Client Lists And Attorney-Client Privilege

When the government conducts tax investigations into a series of common transactions entered into by numerous taxpayers, it often issues document demands to third parties who may have facilitated such transactions, such as banks, brokerage firms, cryptocurrency exchanges, barter exchanges, and, on occasion, law firms. Such demands can come in the form of a "John Doe Summons" (a special type of IRS administrative summons) or a grand jury subpoena. One item typically sought by the government is the list of customers or clients who participated in the transactions under examination. The government has successfully litigated its ability to obtain a list of law firm clients, even when doing so appears on the surface to conflict with the attorney-client privilege.