Attorney Client Privilege Study Outline

Attorney-client privilege is a legal concept that protects communications between clients and their attorneys from being disclosed without the client's consent. The primary purpose of the privilege is to encourage open and honest communication between clients and legal counsel, allowing clients to seek legal advice without fear that their disclosures will later be used against them. Privilege attaches when there is a professional relationship and the communication is made for the purpose of seeking legal advice. The privilege generally applies to both verbal and written communications. It is important to note that the privilege belongs to the client, which means only the client can waive it.

To qualify for the privilege, several elements must be established: 1. There must be a communication between a lawyer and a client. 2. The communication was made in confidence. 3. The primary purpose of the communication was to obtain legal advice. Each of these elements is critical in determining whether the privilege applies; if any one element is absent, the privilege may not be upheld in court. Courts generally interpret the privilege narrowly to ensure that it does not hinder the discovery of relevant evidence.

While the attorney-client privilege is a powerful tool, it is not absolute. There are several recognized exceptions where the privilege may not apply. One such exception is the crime-fraud exception, which holds that communications made in furtherance of a crime or fraud are not privileged. This means if a client seeks legal advice to commit a crime, such communications can be disclosed. Another exception relates to the administration of an estate; if the client is deceased, communications concerning the affairs of the deceased may be subject to disclosure if they relate to matters affecting the estate and can be relevant to pending litigation.

Additionally, communications between co-clients may not be protected if they later become adversarial to each other, as the privilege typically does not extend to joint clients once a conflict arises. Furthermore, if a client announces an intent to commit a future crime during a privileged communication, the attorney has a duty to disclose this information to prevent the crime from occurring. Legal professionals must navigate these exceptions carefully to maintain the integrity of the privilege while fulfilling ethical obligations.