Attorney-Client Privilege
Today I will be discussing Attorney-Client Privilege so that we can have a better understanding of what that legal term means. The Attorney-Client Privilege is a law that protects between attorneys and their clients and keeps them confidential (General Counsel, 2004). This privilege encourages openness and honesty between attorneys and their clients because attorneys cannot reveal Attorney/Client communications. This privilege becomes especially important in the litigation context because privilege communications, whether written or oral, are not disclosed to the opposing party (General Counsel, 2004).
The general requirement for a valid assertion of Attorney-Client Privilege is the asserted holder of privilege is client, and the person to whom the communication was made, is a member of the bar of a court, or his subordinate, and in connection with his communication, is acting as an attorney, and the communication relates to a fact of which the attorney was informed by his client, without the presence of strangers, for the purpose of securing primarily either, an opinion on law, or legal services, or assistance in some legal proceeding, and not for the purpose of committing a crime or tort, and the privilege has been claimed, and the privilege has not been waived(wikipedia,2006).
The Attorney-Client Privilege is fragile, and may be subject to wavier when the content of a confidential communication is disclosed to a third person with no legimate need to know the information, even in some instances where the disclosure is inadvertent. A wavier can also occur where the communication takes place in public, or in some less than secure environment (office of general counsel, pg 2). The privilege does not attach to communication in furthering of an on going or prospective illegal activity. In addition, the privilege does not apply when attorney defends himself or herself against charges of wrongful conduct (legal guide issue, 1998). The privilege does not
The general requirement for a valid assertion of Attorney-Client Privilege is the asserted holder of privilege is client, and the person to whom the communication was made, is a member of the bar of a court, or his subordinate, and in connection with his communication, is acting as an attorney, and the communication relates to a fact of which the attorney was informed by his client, without the presence of strangers, for the purpose of securing primarily either, an opinion on law, or legal services, or assistance in some legal proceeding, and not for the purpose of committing a crime or tort, and the privilege has been claimed, and the privilege has not been waived(wikipedia,2006).
The Attorney-Client Privilege is fragile, and may be subject to wavier when the content of a confidential communication is disclosed to a third person with no legimate need to know the information, even in some instances where the disclosure is inadvertent. A wavier can also occur where the communication takes place in public, or in some less than secure environment (office of general counsel, pg 2). The privilege does not attach to communication in furthering of an on going or prospective illegal activity. In addition, the privilege does not apply when attorney defends himself or herself against charges of wrongful conduct (legal guide issue, 1998). The privilege does not
References: www.stanford.edu/dept/legal/about/attorney_client.html; Retrieved October 20, 2006 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attorney_client_privilige; Retrieved October 20, 2006 www.calstate.edu/GC/Docs/attorney-client_privilge.doc; Retrieved October 20, 2006 Attorney Client Privilege by Paul R. Rice (1999) www.findacticles.com; Retrieved October 20, 2006