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 Spousal Privilege in Florida In Florida, the marital privilege does not apply in criminal cases where one spouse is charged with a crime against another. Additionally, communication intended to commit fraud does not benefit from spousal privilege.
Under the “Reporting Professional Misconduct” rule, Rule 4-8.3, an attorney is obligated to report another attorney's misconduct if the attorney has actual knowledge of a misconduct that raises a substantial question as to the offending attorney's “honesty, trustworthiness, or fitness as a lawyer in other respects.” ...
CRIME/FRAUD EXCEPTION: Pursuant to §90.502(4)(a), there is no attorney-client privilege when the services of the lawyer were sought or obtained to enable or aid anyone to commit or plan to commit what the client knew was a crime or fraud.
Key Provisions of Rule 4-4.2 Prohibition of Communication: Attorneys are prohibited from directly contacting a represented person about the subject matter of the representation without the consent of the represented person's counsel.
There are three primary occasions when solicitor‑client privilege may be overruled, namely when innocence at stake is engaged, the client's communications are themselves criminal, or it is necessary to protect public safety. Any piercing of privilege should be considered an "extraordinary measure."
If a party called for hearing chooses to wait for an absent party, the matter will be passed over but shall retain its position on that day's calendar.
A lawyer may act as advocate in a trial in which another lawyer in the lawyer's firm is likely to be called as a witness unless precluded from doing so by rule 4-1.7 or 4-1.9.
See id. at 1066 (Rule 4-4.3) (lawyer should not state or imply to an unrepresented party that the lawyer is a disinterested authority on the law and should correct any misunderstanding that the unrepresented party may have concerning the lawyer's role). 14. See id.