March 17, 2011

Ms. Susan K. Bohn

General Counsel

Lake Travis Independent School District

3322 Ranch Road 620 South

Austin, Texas 78738

OR2011-03709

Dear Ms. Bohn:

You ask whether certain information is subject to required public disclosure under the Public Information Act (the "Act"), chapter 552 of the Government Code. Your request was assigned ID# 411551 (ORR# 121510-E13/DL 4421).

The Lake Travis Independent School District (the "district") received a request for billing statements, invoices, and receipts for legal expenses received or paid during a specified time period. You state you are releasing some of the requested information. You claim the submitted information is excepted from disclosure under section 552.107 of the Government Code, as well as privileged under rule 503 of the Texas Rules of Evidence. We have considered the submitted arguments and reviewed the submitted information.

Initially, we note the submitted information consists of attorney fee bills that are subject to section 552.022(a)(16) of the Government Code. Section 552.022(a)(16) provides for required public disclosure of "information that is in a bill for attorney's fees and that is not privileged under the attorney-client privilege," unless the information is expressly confidential under "other law." Gov't Code § 552.022(a)(16). You seek to withhold the submitted information under section 552.107 of the Government Code. However, section 552.107 is a discretionary exception to disclosure that protects a governmental body's interests and may be waived. See Open Records Decision Nos. 676 at 10-11 (2002) (attorney-client privilege under section 552.107(1) may be waived), 665 at 2 n.5 (2000) (discretionary exceptions generally). As such, section 552.107 is not "other law" that makes information confidential for the purposes of section 552.022(a)(16), and the district may not withhold any of the submitted information under section 552.107. However, the Texas Supreme Court has held the Texas Rules of Evidence are "other law" within the meaning of section 552.022. See In re City of Georgetown, 53 S.W.3d 328, 336 (Tex. 2001). Accordingly, we will address your claim of the attorney-client privilege under rule 503 of the Texas Rules of Evidence for the submitted information.

Texas Rule of Evidence 503 enacts the attorney-client privilege. Rule 503(b)(1) provides as follows:

A client has a privilege to refuse to disclose and to prevent any other person from disclosing confidential communications made for the purpose of facilitating the rendition of professional legal services to the client:

(A) between the client or a representative of the client and the client's lawyer or a representative of the lawyer;

(B) between the lawyer and the lawyer's representative;

(C) by the client or a representative of the client, or the client's lawyer or a representative of the lawyer, to a lawyer or a representative of a lawyer representing another party in a pending action and concerning a matter of common interest therein;

(D) between representatives of the client or between the client and a representative of the client; or

(E) among lawyers and their representatives representing the same client.

Tex. R. Evid. 503(b)(1). A communication is "confidential" if it is not intended to be disclosed to third persons other than those to whom disclosure is made in furtherance of the rendition of professional legal services to the client or those reasonably necessary for the transmission of the communication. Id. 503(a)(5).

Thus, in order to withhold attorney-client privileged information from disclosure under rule 503, a governmental body must: (1) show the document is a communication transmitted between privileged parties or reveals a confidential communication; (2) identify the parties involved in the communication; and (3) show the communication is confidential by explaining it was not intended to be disclosed to third persons and it was made in furtherance of the rendition of professional legal services to the client. Upon a demonstration of all three factors, the information is privileged and confidential under rule 503, provided the client has not waived the privilege or the document does not fall within the purview of the exceptions to the privilege enumerated in rule 503(d). See Pittsburgh Corning Corp. v. Caldwell, 861 S.W.2d 423, 427 (Tex. App.--Houston [14th Dist.] 1993, no writ).

You assert the submitted attorney fee bills must be withheld in their entirety under rule 503. However, section 552.022(a)(16) of the Government Code provides information "that is in a bill for attorney's fees" is not excepted from required disclosure unless it is confidential under other law or privileged under the attorney-client privilege. See Gov't Code § 552.022(a)(16) (emphasis added). This provision, by its express language, does not permit the entirety of an attorney fee bill to be withheld. See also Open Records Decisions Nos. 676 (2002) (attorney fee bill cannot be withheld in entirety on basis it contains or is attorney-client communication pursuant to language in section 552.022(a)(16)), 589 (1991) (information in attorney fee bill excepted only to extent information reveals client confidences or attorney's legal advice).

In the alternative, you assert the portions of the submitted fee bills you have marked should be withheld under rule 503. You assert the submitted fee bills include privileged attorney-client communications between the district's attorneys and outside counsel and district officials and their staff. You state the communications at issue were made for the purpose of the rendition of legal services to the district. You indicate the communications at issue have not been, and were not intended to be, disclosed to third parties. Based on your representations and our review of the information at issue, we find the district has established portions of the information at issue, which we have marked, constitute attorney-client communications under rule 503. Thus, the district may withhold the information we have marked pursuant to rule 503 of the Texas Rules of Evidence. However, the remaining information documents communications with individuals you have not demonstrated are clients, client representatives, lawyers, or lawyer representatives, or does not reveal privileged communications. Thus, you have not shown how the remaining information you have marked documents privileged attorney-client communications. Accordingly, none of the remaining information may be withheld under Texas Rule of Evidence 503. As you raise no additional exceptions to disclosure, the remaining information must be released.

This letter ruling is limited to the particular information at issue in this request and limited to the facts as presented to us; therefore, this ruling must not be relied upon as a previous determination regarding any other information or any other circumstances.

This ruling triggers important deadlines regarding the rights and responsibilities of the governmental body and of the requestor. For more information concerning those rights and responsibilities, please visit our website at http://www.oag.state.tx.us/open/index_orl.php, or call the Office of the Attorney General's Open Government Hotline, toll free, at (877) 673-6839. Questions concerning the allowable charges for providing public information under the Act must be directed to the Cost Rules Administrator of the Office of the Attorney General, toll free at (888) 672-6787.

Sincerely,

Claire V. Morris Sloan

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

CVMS/tf

Ref: ID# 411551

Enc. Submitted documents

c: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

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