Attorneys fall under the regulatory jurisdiction of the Legal Practice Council. Complaints must be lodged with the relevant office of the Legal Practice Council. Click here for complaints forms from the Legal Practice Council website.
Privilege is a legal right which allows persons to resist compulsory disclosure of documents and information. The fact that a document is sensitive or confidential is not a bar to disclosure, although privileged documents must be confidential.
The concept of legal professional privilege Attorney-client privilege is a legal privilege that enables an attorney to keep communication with his or her client secret. An opposing legal team cannot demand access to this information, either in a discovery request or by asking an attorney to testify under oath.
Whose Burden is it to Prove a Communication is Privileged? The party asserting the attorney-client privilege must prove that the communication in question meets the standard to be protected and that no waiver of the privilege was made.
California courts have held that an attorney-client relationship can only be created by contract.
If someone other than the lawyer or client is present during a confidential conversation, information shared in that conversation no longer qualifies as privileged communication and may be used as evidence in court if necessary.
The attorney-client privilege maintains the confidentiality of certain communications, made between attorneys and their clients, for the purpose of seeking or providing legal advice. The privilege protects communications made orally or in writing, in person or over the telephone, in letters or in emails.
It is not enough to say “well, we didn't have sexual intercourse” or “we didn't get to know one another in the Biblical sense.” Kissing a client, even if the attorney exercises self-restraint with respect to any further sexual activity, runs afoul of California Rule of Professional Conduct 1.8.