November 01, 2018 Top Story

    Privilege Waived for Email Copied to Unrepresented Third Party

    Client communication with unrepresented contractor is not protected by common interest

    By Peter J. Murphy

    Common interest agreements allow separate parties pursuing a common legal interest to share information protected by the attorney-client privilege without waiving that privilege.

    Privileged communications disclosed to third parties are no longer privileged, except under the common interest doctrine

    Privileged communications disclosed to third parties are no longer privileged, except under the common interest doctrine

    iStockphoto by Getty Images

    But a common legal interest requires that both parties be represented by counsel at the time of the communication, according to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. A common business or commercial interest is not sufficient to protect otherwise privileged communication from disclosure.

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