మనము యూస్ lawyers ని నమ్మటం సరే నా ?

[Yaman02]

is it ok to share everything with lawyers and be confident that it will not  leak  be it is a news about a trust or divorce? even if it is on a  primary consultation?

can we trust them 100% and be rest assured to have that news never gets the light without our consent?

[Yaman02]

The attorney-client privilege is the oldest privilege recognized by Anglo-American jurisprudence. At its most basic, the privilege ensures “that one who seeks advice or aid from a lawyer should be completely free of any fear that his secrets will be uncovered.”² Thus, the underlying principle of the privilege is to provide for “sound legal advice [and] advocacy.”³ With the security of the privilege, the client may speak frankly and openly to legal counsel, disclosing all relevant information to the attorney and creating a “zone of privacy.”⁴ In other words, shielded by the privilege, the client may be more willing to communicate to counsel things that might otherwise be suppressed. In theory, such candor and honesty will assist the attorney in providing more accurate, well-reasoned professional advice, and the client can be secure in the knowledge that his statements to his lawyer will not be taken as an adverse admission or used against his interest.⁵ Indeed, armed with full knowledge, counselors at law are better equipped to “satisfy all of their professional responsibilities, uphold their duties of good faith and loyalty to the client, and [contribute] to the efficient administration of justice.”⁶

No matter how the attorney-client privilege is articulated, there are four basic elements necessary to establish its existence: (1) a communication; (2) made between privileged persons; (3) in confidence; (4) for the purpose of seeking, obtaining or providing legal assistance to the client.¹⁰
 

For example, suppose that Smith is speaking with Jones, her attorney, about a matter involving a recent sale of stock that is under investigation by the SEC. Jones asks Smith whether she received any confidential, nonpublic information prior to the sale of her stock, and Smith silently nods her head in the affirmative. Although no words were exchanged, this communication between Smith and her attorney is clearly protected by the privilege.

The issue of waiver arises most commonly when a communication is witnessed by a third party or where the client does not intend the communication to be confidential. The mere presence of a third party will likely prevent the creation of the attorney-client privilege.

 

EXCEPTIONS TO THE ATTORNEY-CLIENT PRIVILEGE

There are some public policy exceptions to the application of the attorney-client privilege. Some of the most common exceptions to the privilege include:

1. Death of a Client.
   The privilege may be breached upon the death of a testator-client if litigation ensues between the decedent’s heirs, legatees or other parties claiming under the deceased client.

2. Fiduciary Duty.
   A corporation’s right to assert the attorney-client privilege is not absolute. An exception to the privilege has been carved out when the corporation’s shareholders wish to pierce the corporation’s attorney-client privilege.

3. Crime or Fraud Exception.
   If a client seeks advice from an attorney to assist with the furtherance of a crime or fraud or the post-commission concealment of the crime or fraud, then the communication is not privileged. If, however, the client has completed a crime or fraud and then seeks the advice of legal counsel, such communications are privileged unless the client considers covering up the crime or fraud.

4. Common Interest Exception.
   If two parties are represented by the same attorney in a single legal matter, neither client may assert the attorney-client privilege against the other in subsequent litigation if the subsequent litigation pertained to the subject matter of the previous joint representation.

[Yaman02]

The Duty of Confidentiality

The attorney-client privilege is, strictly speaking, a rule of evidence. It prevents lawyers from testifying about, and from being forced to testify about, their clients’ statements. Independent of that privilege, lawyers also owe their clients a duty of confidentiality. The duty of confidentiality prevents lawyers from even informally discussing information related to their clients’ cases with others. They must keep private almost all information related to representation of the client, even if that information didn’t come from the client.

Expecting Confidentiality

Lawyer-client communications are covered by the attorney-client privilege only if the circumstances lend themselves to confidentiality. For example, clients who speak to their lawyers about pending lawsuits in private, with no one else present, can reasonably expect secrecy. If someone were to surreptitiously record the conversation, that recording would probably be inadmissible in court.

But a client who speaks to a lawyer in public wouldn’t be able to prevent someone who overheard the conversation from testifying about it. Similarly, a client can forfeit the attorney-client privilege by repeating a conversation with an attorney to someone else, or by having a third person present during a conversation with the lawyer. No matter who hears or learns about a communication, however, the lawyer typically remains obligated not to repeat it.

[Yaman02]

mee experiences ni share chesukonagalaru

[Peter123]

no one gives a  about your divorce, you just need to submit your documents for it, thats all, if its mutual then you'd get your divorce done in max 2 months, if kids and property involved then it'd go on to a diff process, like custody, alimony, property distribution, depends on several factors primarily income, this would need some time to get settled.

same goes with trust..

Good Luck!