Ways Attorney-Client Privilege Is Destroyed
When it comes to certain legal procedures and practices, people often misunderstand that they understand the full extent simply because they have seen it enough times on their screens.
Some popular examples include the infamous Miranda Rights and attorney-client privilege. However, the reality is very different from what is in the movies or popular series.
Thus, judging your knowledge of legal practices based on your screen time and your favorite law-and-order season can prove a big mistake. Before moving further, let’s see what attorney-client privilege is.
Attorney-Client Privilege
In the United States, the attorney-client privilege refers to the legal right of a client about which they can refuse to disclose confidential communications between themselves and their attorney.
According to the United States Supreme Court, the attorney-client privilege encourages candid and frank conversation between a client and attorney.
An honest disclosure by the client also helps an attorney provide them with the best and most effective legal advice. In addition to individuals, corporations can also hold attorney-client privilege. This can happen when the corporation itself, not the management, is the client.
Individuals looking to file a lawsuit against a corporation should educate themselves about these things to avoid any inconvenience later in their legal proceedings.
When it comes to an understanding legal practices, it’s best to consult legal professionals in your current jurisdiction.
For example, suppose you are looking to file a mesothelioma lawsuit in California. In that case, it’s best to use keywords such as California mesothelioma lawyer online to find the best resources available near you.
Mesothelioma lawyers are an important part of the court system. These attorneys specialize in helping clients diagnosed with this type of cancer. They must follow strict guidelines set out by law so their work can succeed. Such cases often require extensive research before starting trial proceedings. These legal professionals come into play because most will conduct witness interviews and gather medical evidence from experts around the country about how asbestos exposure caused them harm.
Some necessary elements to establish attorney-client privilege are listed below:
- The privilege is held by the client or an individual who is a potential client
- The person other than the client in the conversation must be a bar member or an acting attorney. (Subordinates of the acting attorney are also part of the privilege)
- The communication must be legal (to secure legal advice)
Now that we know about attorney-client privilege and its participants, let’s look at ways it can be destroyed.
1. Non-Legal Advice
Generally, the attorney-client privilege does not apply to the verbal or written communications that discuss unrelated matters – matters that are not primarily related to the law.
As discussed above, the communication between clients and their attorneys must primarily secure legal advice.
To judge the nature of a client-attorney communication, courts usually focus on the “primary purpose” of the communication. Communication between a client and their attorney that does not revolve around giving or seeking legal advice may not be protected under attorney-client privilege.
2. Informed Waiver
Since the privilege of confidentiality belongs to the client, the client can also choose to waive it. Waiving the attorney-client privilege is another way to destroy it.
A client can waive off this privilege through an agreement that cannot be edited or undone later; that is why a waiver of this nature is not something to be taken lightly.
Waiving attorney-client privilege may seem like an unreasonable course of action. Still, some parties may benefit if they choose to waive their privilege. For example, some corporations, mostly government, choose to waive their attorney-client privilege to show that they never had anything to hide.
3. A Waiver by Communication to a Third Party
Generally, the involvement of a third party revokes any privilege that was established between a client and their attorney. Although such waivers can be intentional, most people accidentally get a third party involved by disclosing confidential legal matters to them.
Unfortunately, the intent does not matter, and the privilege is destroyed when a client or an attorney discloses confidential matters to a third party. Parents and spouses are among the top “third-party” individuals that become the cause of accidental privilege waivers.
Not all third-party involvement causes a confidentiality breach. Generally, language interpreters don’t count in this matter. Also, co-clients in the same matter are protected under attorney-client privilege.
4. Failure to Object
The entire point of attorney-client privilege is to protect the client from getting their confidential matters discovered by the other party in the court of law.
Before trial, both parties in a lawsuit request certain information and documents from the other side that may help them to build a case. It is also known as a pretrial discovery request.
The Takeaway
Legal proceedings tend to get quite complicated, especially if a person has little or no legal knowledge. But that does not mean that it has to be that tedious. Educating yourself about some of the most common legal practices in advance of your lawsuit can help you tremendously to have a smooth legal experience. Attorney-client privilege is one of the most important aspects of an attorney-client relationship. Understand the points mentioned in this article to educate yourself about them and make your legal journey easier.
