It’s a privilege to have a close family, but the presence of family members for conversations with counsel can waive privilege. The desire to include family members in these conversations makes sense, because the choices an individual makes in a criminal matter can have wide-ranging consequences for loved ones. But including family members in conversations with counsel creates the risk that the conversation will not be treated as confidential, and that one of those family members could be called to testify to the contents of the conversation. It is important that counsel, clients, and family members alike understand those risks and how to minimize them. The easiest approach is simply to exclude family members, which avoids risking a waiver of the attorney-client privilege and protects sensitive facts from disclosure.

Source: Forbes November 04, 2019 23:03 UTC