There are some public policy exceptions to the applying of the attorney-client privilege. a number of the foremost common exceptions to the privilege include:
1. Death of a shopper. The privilege could also be breached upon the death of a testator-client if litigation ensues between the decedent’s heirs, legatees or alternative parties claiming beneath the deceased shopper.
2. Fiduciary Duty. A corporation’s right to say the attorney-client privilege isn't absolute. An exception to the privilege has been carved out when the corporation’s shareholders would like to pierce the corporation’s attorney-client privilege.
3. Crime or Fraud Exception. If a shopper seeks recommendation from an attorney to help with the furtherance of against the law or fraud or the post-commission concealment of the crime or fraud, then the communication isn't privileged. If, however, the shopper has completed against the law or fraud and then seeks the recommendation of legal counsel, such communications are privileged unless the shopper considers covering up the crime or fraud.
4. Common Interest Exception. If 2 parties are represented by constant attorney in an exceedingly single legal matter, neither shopper might assert the attorney-client privilege against the opposite in subsequent litigation if the next litigation pertained to the topic matter of the previous joint illustration.
In addition to those a lot of ancient policy exceptions to the applying of the privilege, recent events remind us that the privilege isn't the least bit absolute. within the wake of the events of September eleven, 2001, as an example, Congress enacted, in swift fashion, the USA Patriot Act, permitting, among alternative things, increased authority to conduct searches and monitor activity while not judicial intervention.28 The USA Patriot Act led to variety of latest rules and govt orders from the Bush Administration, as well as the widely criticized Bureau of Prisons Rule.29 This rule “authorizes the Attorney General to order the [Bureau of Prisons] Director to observe or review communications between inmates and lawyers for the aim of deterring future acts that might lead to death or serious bodily injury to persons or property.”30 All that's needed before such monitoring will begin could be a “reasonable suspicion … that a specific inmate might use attorney-client communications to facilitate acts of terrorism.”31 though the long-term effects of this new rule can't be known, one is reminded that the privilege itself isn't immune from the political climate within which we have a tendency to live.
MATTERS NOT PROTECTED BY THE ATTORNEY-CLIENT PRIVILEGE
Not all parts of the attorney-client relationship are protected by or encompassed inside the attorney-client privilege. as an example, the existence of the attorney-client relationship or the length of the connection aren't privileged bits of knowledge.32 In fact, the final nature of the services performed by the lawyer, as well as the terms and conditions of the retention, are typically discoverable.
The factual circumstances surrounding the communications between an attorney and a shopper, like the date of the communication and therefore the identity of persons copied on correspondence, are likewise not privileged. Participants in an exceedingly meeting with an attorney, the length of a consultation and therefore the documents evidencing same (e.g., calendars, appointment books) aren't essentially shielded from compelled disclosure.33 As for the fee arrangement between an attorney and a shopper, these documents are usually discoverable, except where such discovery would manufacture confidential communications with the shopper.34
THE PRIVILEGE: CLOSING THOUGHTS
While the attorney-client privilege is firmly established as a legal doctrine that protects confidential communications between lawyers and their purchasers, its application isn't absolute. The circumstances of the communication, its content and even subsequent actions regarding the privileged communication should be rigorously thought-about to preserve the integrity of the privilege.
