(a) Communications between an indigent individual and an individual in the Office or engaged by the Public Defender are protected by the attorney–client privilege to the same extent as though an attorney had been privately engaged.
(b) (1) Subject to paragraph (2) of this subsection, this section does not preclude the Public Defender from using material in the Public Defender’s files that is otherwise privileged to prepare and disclose statistical, case study, and other sociological data.
(2) Material used to prepare and disclose sociological data may not disclose the identity of a particular indigent individual.