{"id":29598,"date":"2023-11-28T22:31:38","date_gmt":"2023-11-28T22:31:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/?p=29598"},"modified":"2023-12-09T09:03:02","modified_gmt":"2023-12-09T09:03:02","slug":"privilege-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/privilege-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Privilege"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_63 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title \" >Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/privilege-2\/#Legal_Professional_Privilege\" title=\"Legal Professional Privilege\">Legal Professional Privilege<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/privilege-2\/#Legislative_Modifications\" title=\"Legislative Modifications\">Legislative Modifications<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/privilege-2\/#Limits_to_Privilege\" title=\"Limits to Privilege\">Limits to Privilege<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/privilege-2\/#Duty_of_Confidentiality\" title=\"Duty of Confidentiality\">Duty of Confidentiality<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/privilege-2\/#Limits_Moral_Duties\" title=\"Limits &amp; Moral Duties\">Limits &amp; Moral Duties<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/privilege-2\/#Ensuring_Confidentiality\" title=\"Ensuring Confidentiality\">Ensuring Confidentiality<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Legal_Professional_Privilege\"><\/span>Legal Professional Privilege<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Legal professional privilege subsists between the client and the solicitor.\u00a0 The effect of privilege is to prevent disclosure of client information or details of the instructions to third parties, other than where expressly or impliedly permitted by the client.<\/p>\n<p>The effect is that the content of such communications may not be compelled in court or on discovery. Professional privilege is distinct from, but similar in terms to the professional duty to keep the client\u2019s information confidential.<\/p>\n<p>Legal professional privilege applies to communications in connection with legal advice.\u00a0 The matter protected may be written or oral.\u00a0 It is not limited to communications in the course of proceedings.\u00a0 It does not apply to communications made for the purpose of being passed on to the opposite party in a dispute.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Legislative_Modifications\"><\/span>Legislative Modifications<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Privilege may be modified by statute.\u00a0 A range of legislation has limited some aspects of solicitor client confidentiality and legal professional privilege.\u00a0 In particular, legislation in relation to anti-money laundering and taxation \u00a0gives the Gardai, \u00a0Revenue and Gardai and other authorities powers in relation to discovering and requiring production of documents.<\/p>\n<p>Tax legislation provides for some exceptions in relation to material which is subject to legal professional privilege.\u00a0 The term of the exception depends on the legislation.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Limits_to_Privilege\"><\/span>Limits to Privilege<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Privilege may be waived intentionally or unintentionally.\u00a0 If material is disclosed by mistake, the recipient solicitor is not generally entitled to use the information and privilege is retained, where the recipient solicitor realises or ought to realise that an obvious mistake has been made in making the information available.<\/p>\n<p>The privilege does not apply to communications made for a fraudulent or unlawful purpose.\u00a0 It does not apply to communications for the purpose of assistance in the commission of a crime.<\/p>\n<p>In the case of a joint retainer, communications made to a solicitor for the benefit of all \u00a0clients jointly must usually be disclosed to all of them.\u00a0 Privilege is lost in relation to documents filed in court.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Duty_of_Confidentiality\"><\/span>Duty of Confidentiality<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The professional duty of confidentiality applies to all communications between a solicitor and client It applies to the existence of the relationship itself.\u00a0 It is implied into the terms of the contract for legal services.\u00a0 Matters relating to the client\u2019s affairs may only be disclosed with the express consent of the client, by order of court or other body exercising legally binding powers.<\/p>\n<p>A solicitor may not disclose matters to the authorities adverse to the client\u2019s interest, in the absence of one of the relevant exceptions.\u00a0 If a solicitor is summonsed to court to attend on subpoena, the court may determine the extent of privilege that is available in the circumstances.<\/p>\n<p>In the case of probate, the executor is the client.\u00a0 Information should not be disclosed to third parties, including beneficiaries, \u00a0without the executor\u2019s consent.\u00a0 It may be appropriate to supply an extract from the will to a particular beneficiary. \u00a0\u00a0On completion of the estate, an account should be furnished to the residuary beneficiaries or other parties to whom they are directly relevant.<\/p>\n<p>Family law files are subject to additional privacy considerations.\u00a0 Most hearings are held in camera or without the public being present.\u00a0 A solicitor should not disclose the contents of a family law file to a third party even if he has his own clients\u2019 consent.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Limits_Moral_Duties\"><\/span>Limits &amp; Moral Duties<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Confidentiality does not apply for the purpose of committing a crime or fraud.\u00a0 The solicitor is entitled to communicate this matter to a third party.\u00a0 Where there is a serious risk to the well being a third party or client, the solicitor maybe entitled to disclose information to prevent the same, although the position is unclear.<\/p>\n<p>If the client lacks mental capacity or is exhibiting suicidal tendencies, the solicitor should encourage the client to visit an appropriate professional.\u00a0 He may consider making a confidential referral if he believes the client will not take the advice.<\/p>\n<p>Where a solicitor is aware of risk of an abuse to the third party which requires notification to health authorities which the client is unwilling to take, the solicitor should advise the client to encourage the third party to contact the health authorities or medical practitioner.<\/p>\n<p>If the solicitor is aware of a death threat or threat of serious injury to a client, he should encourage the client to report the matter to the Garda.<\/p>\n<p>Where in cases of sexual or physical abuse or ongoing neglect of a child or where there is a risk to the child\u2019s life or health which the client won\u2019t disclose, the solicitor may be justified in overriding breaching the duty of confidentiality by a confidential referral to a medical practitioner Statute now applies.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Ensuring_Confidentiality\"><\/span>Ensuring Confidentiality<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Solicitors must arrange their offices so that the duty to protect client information is secured.\u00a0 Where offices are shared with non-solicitors, arrangement shall be in place to restrict access to confidential information, where they are held on hard files or computer records.\u00a0 Where electronic records are kept offsite, solicitors must take reasonable steps to ensure that the information is kept confidential.<\/p>\n<p>Where IT maintenance contractors will have access to information, the solicitor must ensure that they are reputable, and an appropriate confidentiality agreement should be signed. Where \u00a0material is shared, stored offsite, solicitors must take reasonable steps to ensure that it is kept confidential.<\/p>\n<p>Staff should be trained in relation to their obligations in respect of client confidentiality.\u00a0 The duty applies to each member of staff and continues after termination of employment.<\/p>\n<!--themify_builder_content-->\n<div id=\"themify_builder_content-29598\" data-postid=\"29598\" class=\"themify_builder_content themify_builder_content-29598 themify_builder tf_clear\">\n    <\/div>\n<!--\/themify_builder_content-->\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Legal Professional Privilege Legal professional privilege subsists between the client and the solicitor.\u00a0 The effect of privilege is to prevent disclosure of client information or details of the instructions to third parties, other than where expressly or impliedly permitted by the client. The effect is that the content of such communications may not be compelled [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[308],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29598"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29598"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29598\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30042,"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29598\/revisions\/30042"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29598"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29598"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/legalblog.ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29598"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}