The United States is a constitutional federal republic. Federal courts have jurisdiction over matters involving the U.S. government, the Constitution or federal laws, or controversies between states or between the U.S. government and foreign governments. In addition to the federal court system — as well as the District of Columbia and some U.S. territories such as Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands — has its own judicial system and has developed its own jurisprudence on solicitor-client privilege and the doctrine of attorney`s work product. In general, federal courts will apply common law principles to preferred claims, except under the U.S. Constitution; a federal Act; or regulations prescribed by the Supreme Court provide otherwise. State law, on the other hand, governs privilege in relation to a claim or defence for which State law provides for the decision rule.

While privilege laws are mostly similar in each state and federal law, they are not identical. Yes, there are two types of solicitor-client privilege in the United States: solicitor-client privilege and the work product doctrine. The privilege of legal advice is not limited to legal advice, but also includes “advice on what to do prudently and reasonably in the relevant legal context.” This includes presentation, commercial or strategic advice insofar as it relates to a client`s legal rights, responsibilities, obligations and remedies. It does not apply to purely strategic or commercial advice that is not provided in a “relevant legal context”. Similarly, it does not apply to the “fruits” of legal advice, for example: an agreement or a transfer. Lawyers` working papers are preferred only if they betray or give an indication of the content of the legal opinion. Regardless of how solicitor-client privilege is formulated, four basic elements are required to establish its existence: (1) communication; (2) between privileged persons; (3) confidential; (4) for the purpose of seeking, obtaining or providing legal assistance to the client.10 Like solicitor-client privilege, protection of the work product doctrine may also be waived. Therefore, the voluntary disclosure of the lawyer`s work product to an opponent or through an opponent waives the protection of work products for those documents. Whether or not there was a waiver of work product protection depends on the facts surrounding the disclosure of the records and whether the disclosing party had reasonable grounds to believe in good faith that the recipient would keep the records confidential. As a result, there may be more room to share the results of the work with people associated with the client (e.g., accountant, non-legal counsel) without risk of opt-out than is the case with privileged communication between lawyer and client.

If the protection of the work product is waived, the waiver generally applies only to the material actually disclosed and does not extend to its entire purpose. Unfortunately, it is not always so clear when an attorney-client relationship exists. Let`s say Sally Smith contacts David Jones, a lawyer, by phone. During the conversation, Smith Jones explained that it was involved in a dispute with the Internal Revenue Service over a tax-saving agreement designed for specific business purposes. She reveals important facts and very sensitive information during the conversation, then asks Jones for his legal opinion. Is the content of this conversation privileged? That depends. Solicitor-client privilege is a legal concept that protects communication between a client and his or her lawyer and maintains the confidentiality of communications in civil and criminal cases. This privilege promotes open and honest communication between clients and lawyers. However, in the United States, not all state courts consider lawyers` communications to be confidential. For example, Washington State law and federal courts when applying federal law only protect customer communications; Solicitor`s communications are protected as privileged only to the extent that they contain or disclose the client`s communications.

[ref. needed] In contrast, California law protects confidential attorney communications, whether they contain, reference, or disclose the client`s communications. In addition, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that privilege does not generally end with the client`s death. See Swidler & Berlin v. United States. [12] Subject to certain limited exceptions, privilege is an absolute right to which the client is entitled. If a document is privileged, the basic position is that it can be refused to third parties. Death of a client. The privilege may be violated in the event of the death of a testator-client in the event of a dispute between the heirs, legatees or other parties of the deceased who claim the deceased client.

The privilege belongs to the client, not the lawyer. The “control group” was defined by the courts to include employees who were in a position of control, allowing them to play a critical role in determining what actions the company would take after receiving legal advice. See, for example, City of Philadelphia v Westinghouse Elec. Corp., 210 et seq.