What Constitutes a Privileged Communication?
In order for a communication to be protected by the attorney-client privilege, three requirements must be met. First, the communication must be made for the purpose of obtaining or providing legal advice. If the communication is primarily a general business discussion, it is not privileged. Second, the communication must be between a client and an attorney or, if the communication is only between employees of the client, it must specifically note that the information shared is advice provided by the client’s attorney or request information at the direction of the client’s attorney to enable the attorney to give advice. Third, the communication must be intended to be confidential and actually kept confidential. If the client does not maintain the confidential nature of the communication – and instead discloses it to individuals outside of the attorney-client relationship – then the client waives the privilege. This presents a very real problem because company managers often feel that th
