Personal injury attorneys often tell potential clients through advertisements or postings that they can come into the law office for a free and confidential consultation. Depending on your situation, you may be wary about the implications of telling a stranger all about your predicament. However, you have the law on your side, namely the benefits of attorney-client privilege. Attorney-client privilege guarantees that any sensitive information shared with your attorney, even at an initial consultation, is safe from information requests from courts or insurance agencies. If you are still not convinced, continue reading this blog to learn how attorney-client privilege benefits you during your personal injury lawsuit proceedings.
How Attorney-Client Privilege Works
Attorney-client privilege is a specific rule that protects the information you provide to an attorney from being shared. Generally, some requirements must be met before this privilege kicks in:
- The information was shared between an attorney and a client or potential client
- The information was shared while receiving legal advice through an attorney in a professional capacity
- The client had a reasonable expectation that the information would be kept confidential by the attorney
Altogether, these rules mean that a process must be gone through when receiving legal advice; sharing confidential information with a lawyer you meet at a restaurant wouldn’t qualify as privileged. Any time you come into our offices and speak with an attorney, you can be sure that your information is kept confidential.
There are, however, a few scenarios where this privilege may be voided. Lawyers are obliged to report any crime a client has said they intend to commit. Clients also do not receive this privilege if the information was uploaded online improperly, on social media platforms, or through monitored emails, such as from a workplace.
That doesn’t mean that only in-person meetings qualify for this privilege. Confidential phone calls, letters, or online communications also qualify if care is taken to protect the contents from the knowledge of others.
How Does This Privilege Help A Client?
After reading all of the requirements, you might wonder why telling your attorney any sensitive information is worth it. In short, your attorney is there to work on your behalf, and any information that can help your case should immediately be relayed to your attorney. All information, good and bad, is used when determining how to proceed with your case. Insurance companies aim to pay out as little as possible, and opposing attorneys will also work diligently for their clients. Providing your attorney with even damning evidence can help your attorney refute the best arguments put forward by the defendants in your case.
Your attorney will also act as the intermediary between you and the opposing party once you hire them for your case. In this capacity, they must have access to your personal information in order to answer any questions or protect your sensitive info from the defendants. If done through the proper channels, all of your information will benefit from attorney-client privilege, meaning that even if the case continues to draw on for an extended period, you only have to disclose your sensitive details once at the very beginning while your attorney handles the rest.
Sharing personal or embarrassing details might not be fun, but it allows your attorney to craft a strategy to receive the highest financial compensation possible for your personal injury case. If you have more questions or concerns, reach out to the experienced attorneys at Probinsky & Cole.
