Understanding Confidentiality and Privilege with Your Lawyer

Hi, my name is Clint Hastings. I’m a Tulsa fathers’ rights attorney here in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Here’s a quick video about the importance of privilege and confidentiality with your attorney. This is something that comes up a lot, and while it doesn’t always lead to issues, it can put you at risk. Your confidentiality with your attorney is a statutory right. This means you cannot be forced to testify about things you’ve discussed in confidence with your attorney, nor can you be made to testify about their advice to you on those matters.

Protecting Your Privacy

There are exceptions, of course—such as if you’re disclosing intent to commit a crime or asking your attorney to assist with fraud. We won’t dive into those here, but the main point I want to stress is that you must keep your discussions with your attorney private. This includes not sharing those details with third parties who aren’t part of the attorney-client relationship in your case.

For example, if you tell your attorney something like, “I’ve been drinking around the kids, and I think I may have a problem. What should I do about it?” and then later share that conversation with a friend, say Joe, you’ve potentially waived your confidentiality. If Joe gets called as a witness, or if this information is brought up in court, you could lose the confidentiality protection on that issue because you disclosed it to someone outside the privileged relationship.

Importance of Keeping Conversations Private

Another issue that arises is when clients record their attorney conversations. While recording itself doesn’t necessarily break confidentiality, sharing that recording with others does. You may accidentally turn it over or play it for someone, and that could lead to questions about whether you intended to keep it confidential. This happens more often than you’d think, especially in big cases.

It’s also important to be cautious when having other people present during your meetings with your attorney, such as a spouse, friend, or significant other. That person could be called to testify about what was discussed, which could compromise the confidentiality of the conversation.

Contact Us for a Consultation

The best advice here is to always ask your attorney what is confidential and what isn’t and be mindful of your conversations. This applies to sharing details with anyone not involved in the case. We hope this information helps. Please check out our website for more videos, and feel free to reach out for a consultation if you need assistance. Again, I’m Tulsa Dads.Law attorney Clint Hastings and we’re here to help. Contact us at 918-962-0900 for a low-cost consultation.