In this complaint, plaintiff charges defendants with intentional interference with the attorney/client relationship. The plaintiff states that the actions of the defendants in interfering with the attorney/client relationship were willful, wanton, malicious and obtrusive and that punitive damages should be accessed against the defendants.
Attorney Client Privilege With Former Employees In Phoenix
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State:
Multi-State
City:
Phoenix
Control #:
US-000295
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Word;
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FAQ
Duration of the privilege: The attorney-client privilege continues indefinitely and survives the termination of the attorney-client relationship and even the death of the client.
In all but a few states, the attorney-client privilege can protect a company's lawyer's communications with former company employees — as long as the communications focus on the former employees' tenure at the company.
The attorney-client privilege may be waived when outside counsel is engaged in investigating and evaluating or processing a claim.
ER 1.6(a) prohibits a lawyer from revealing information relating to the representation of a client. This is true even for information that may otherwise be available to the public. See ABA Formal Op. 479.
Crime or Fraud Exception. If a client seeks advice from an attorney to assist with the furtherance of a crime or fraud or the post-commission concealment of the crime or fraud, then the communication is not privileged.
Imminent death or harm. Your attorney can't be held to attorney-client privilege if they believe that keeping your confidence would result in death or significant physical harm to someone.
Former Employees Can Have Privileged Communications With Their Former Employer's Lawyer, but Cannot Waive Its Privilege.
It is a common practice for outside litigation counsel to represent current, and even former, employees of corporate clients during depositions. This practice, however, is governed by ethical rules (and opinions and case law) that must be considered in advance.
Unethical attorneys may breach attorney-client privilege for their own gain. If they have the chance to profit from your information or your case presents a conflict of interest for them, unbeknownst to you, they may intentionally divulge privileged information to benefit or protect themselves.
That means that if a lawyer does break privilege and reveals something, it cannot be used against you. Lawyer's also have a professional duty of confidentiality. This means that, even if something doesn't fall under 'attorney-client privilege,' your lawyer cannot discuss it outside their legal team.