OVERLAND PARK FAMILY LAWYER TALKS: ATTORNEY CLIENT PRIVILEGE & HOW IT CAN BE BROKEN.

One thing that clients need to keep in mind is that they have a privilege of communications with their attorney. This privilege is not all encompassing and typically only encompasses things relevant to your case. The client is the holder of the privilege and as long as it isn’t broken, the client can stop their attorney to testify on their behalf. The attorney client privilege can be easily broken and that is something that clients need to be very aware of. For example, if you and your attorney have a conversation in a room and your new spouse is there or a boyfriend or a friend that automatically breaks your attorney client privilege. The privilege is broken because that third party can now tell people what you and your attorney discussed. Another way attorney client privilege can be broken is if you communicate with your attorney on a work email address and you communicate with your attorney on that work e-mail. Well, if your boss has access to your emails and can read your emails, that is another way that the privilege can be broken. It is very important that you maintain attorney client confidentiality and do not discuss with others what you discussed with your attorney.