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Full-Text Articles in Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility
The Attorney-Client Privilege, Thomas C. Dawson Jr., John T. Tucker Iii, Kevin J. Whyte
The Attorney-Client Privilege, Thomas C. Dawson Jr., John T. Tucker Iii, Kevin J. Whyte
University of Richmond Law Review
History suggests that the attorney-client privilege is the oldest of the evidentiary privileges. It probably arose at common law during the 1500's, concurrent with the right to trial by jury. Judges initially viewed the privilege as a vindication of "the oath and the honor of the attorney." However, during the late 1700's, courts began to assert that the privilege's purpose was to encourage clients to make full disclosure to their counsel, by "providing subjectively for the client's freedom of apprehension." In 1871, the Virginia Supreme Court5 stated that "[i]f the privilege did not exist at all, every one would be …
Corporate Attorney-Client Privilege - New Emphasis On The Lawyer's Need To Know: Upjohn Co. V. United States, Michael J. Viscount Jr.
Corporate Attorney-Client Privilege - New Emphasis On The Lawyer's Need To Know: Upjohn Co. V. United States, Michael J. Viscount Jr.
University of Richmond Law Review
In seeking the advice of legal counsel, the corporation may, out of necessity, communicate through its representatives confidential secrets about its conduct in business. As is the case with individuals, it is well settled that a corporation may avail itself of the evidentiary privilege which allows concealment of such confidential communications. This so-called attorney-client privilege is the oldest of the privileges for confidential communications known to the common law. However, its application in the corporate context has been quite unpredictable for the past twenty years.