Bill Cosby Teaches The Law of Attorney-Client Privilege
Questions about the scope of attorney-client privilege are often dicey in commercial litigation. There's a great article over at Law.com looking at several key principles of the attorney-client privilege illustrated by one case involving Bill Cosby. One example from the article:
Privilege protects communications with counsel, not the facts communicate
The court held that, while Cosby's communications with his attorney were eligible for protection, the facts that may have been communicated in the conversation were not protected. For instance, assume hypothetically that during a confidential conversation with his attorney, Cosby told him that he had sold his story to The National Enquirer. Under Robreno's decision, Cosby, if asked whether The National Enquirer paid for his story, would be required to respond that the tabloid had done so, notwithstanding that it was a fact that he communicated to his attorney. On the other hand, the question "What did you say to your attorney about any payment from The Enquirer?" would be an impermissible intrusion on the privilege. Constand would be entitled to know about such a payment to the publication, but would not be entitled to know whether or not Cosby communicated that fact to his lawyer.
(Thanks to the Legal Reader for pointing the article out).
Post A Comment / Question