Attorney-Client Privilege

The rule protecting confidential communications between lawyer and client

Overview

Called the oldest of the common law confidences, the privilege protects communications made for legal advice so clients may speak frankly. It belongs to the client, survives death in most systems, and yields only narrowly, as under the crime-fraud exception. It is distinct from the lawyer's ethical duty of confidentiality and from work product protection for litigation preparation. Professional secrecy in civil law systems pursues the same goal as a duty rather than an evidentiary privilege. Corporations hold the privilege through their lawyers, a rule that spawned modern privilege review industries.