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."
The privilege “only protects communications between the attorney and the client about underlying factual information, not the facts themselves.” Attorney Gen. v. Facebook, Inc., 487 Mass. 109, 123 (2021).
(d) Exceptions The attorney-client privilege does not apply to the following: (1) Furtherance of Crime or Fraud. If the services of the attorney were sought or obtained to commit or to plan to commit what the client knew or reasonably should have known was a crime or fraud; (2) Claimants Through Same Deceased Client.
The common interest or joint defense privilege is a widely used tool to shield from discovery strategic communications between separately represented parties who are united against a common adversary.
"The power to waive the corporate attorney-client privilege rests with the corporation's management and is normally exercised by its officers and directors." Weintraub, 471 U.S. at 348; see also, ABA/BNA Lawyer's Manual, at 05; United States v.
(a) A lawyer shall not reveal confidential information relating to the representation of a client unless the client gives informed consent, the disclosure is impliedly authorized in order to carry out the representation or the disclosure is permitted by paragraph (b).