3 Comments on If You Call A Lawyer To Ask For Legal Advice In Something Serious?

JS on Tue, 1st Dec 2009 12:39 pm


Once he started to listen to your story in contemplation of representation, everything you tell him is privileged (and you have the privilege which you may waive or not).
Now, if you told him about a crime that you plan to commit or that will in some way hurt a person he has a duty to report that. But acts, once completed are privileged. He need not be your attorney going forward, telling him in contemplation is enough.

Jeffrey V on Tue, 1st Dec 2009 1:53 pm


The future crime and fraud exception to the attorney client privilege makes anything you say about committing or intending to commit a crime subject to disclosure. See Tarasoff v Board of Regents, et al
In Tarasoff it was held that a psychiatric patient who told his doctor that he intended to murder a young woman who had spurned his romantic advances had a duty to notify law enforcement, or at minimum the stated target of the threat The physician patient privilege was asserted, but held not to control where there was an active threat to another person with the present means to carry it out.

laughter on Tue, 1st Dec 2009 4:16 pm


Once you establish an attorney/client relationship, whatever you tell him is confidential except as concerns future crimes. A phone call is usually not sufficient to establish the relationship. Instead, it requires a mutual agreement of some sort, and often the payment of a fee.

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