Except by permission of the client for whom a licensee or substantial equivalency practitioner performs services or the heirs, successors, or personal representatives of a client, a licensee or substantial equivalency practitioner shall not voluntarily disclose information communicated to the licensee or substantial equivalency practitioner by the client relating to and in connection with services rendered to the client by the licensee or substantial equivalency practitioner. The information shall be considered confidential: Provided, That this Section shall not be construed as prohibiting the disclosure of information required to be disclosed by the standards of the profession in reporting on the examination of financial statements or as prohibiting disclosures in court proceedings, in investigations or proceedings under this article, in ethical investigations conducted by private professional organizations, in the course of peer reviews, to other persons on a need-to-know basis when those persons are active in the firm and performing services for the client, or to persons in the firm who need the information for the sole purpose of assuring quality control within the firm.
W. Va. Code R. § 1-1-16