What is Attorney-Client Privilege?

Suppose you have been accused of a criminal act or were hurt in an injury accident. In that case, you may have called an attorney to help defend yourself from criminal charges or to pursue financial compensation for your damages. Your attorney aims to represent you to the best of their ability and secure the most desirable outcome for you. In a criminal case, that would ideally involve having your charges dropped or getting a not-guilty verdict. In a civil case, that would be securing the highest amount of compensation.

When you meet with an attorney, you will discuss the facts of your case with him/her. This information will be vital to your attorney in assessing your case and determining what steps to take to help you get the results you are looking for.

In Oregon, the Portland personal injury attorneys at Rosenbaum Law Group have your best interests in mind when you need to obtain financial compensation for your civil action. The experienced legal teams know how important it is that you trust your lawyer and listen to their advice. Likewise, your lawyer has to have faith in what you say to assist you in the most productive way.

How Attorney-Client Privilege Affects Your Case

Being honest and open with your attorney will be advantageous for your case. If you withhold facts or tell mistruths, your attorney will be unable to effectively build a case for you that will give you the ultimate outcome you are looking for.

While it may be hard to feel like you can be completely truthful about all facts of a case, speaking with your attorney is not a time when you have to worry about judgment. Your attorney is your advocate with your best interests in mind. Your attorney is focused on helping and supporting you. Due to attorney-client privilege, what you say to your attorney is protected. In other words, you cannot be forced to testify about what you tell your lawyer. Similarly, your attorney cannot be made to speak about what their clients tell them.

Attorney-client privilege is an essential part of the relationship between an attorney and those they represent, as well as in providing legal services. Without this privilege, a client would be reluctant to tell their attorney the totality of their case and the quality of legal assistance that an attorney could offer their client would be diminished.

While this privilege is critical, not every aspect of what a client and their attorney talk about will be confidential. Only those conversations where legal advice is sought, and it is known that these communications should be private. Mundane communications unrelated to legal advice that would not reasonably be intended to be confidential or information in a location that is not private may not be covered by attorney-client privilege and could be disclosed. An example of this would be a conversation where an attorney and their client are sitting in an open and busy cafe while discussing the weather. Here, attorney-client privilege for this particular conversation would likely be waived.

Speak to an Oregon Personal Injury Attorney Today

If you need legal support and counsel from a personal injury attorney, you can count on and trust the Portland, OR, personal injury attorneys at Rosenbaum Law Group. Call today at (503) 288-8000 to schedule a free consultation where you can discuss your case.