Use of Legal Privilege

The Public Records Act applies to articles and materials held by attorneys employed in the State of Florida59 and, therefore, the work product doctrine generally does not apply to protect such items from discovery or inspection. However, since this Act only applies to public documents, it may not apply to the discovery of oral testimony by the filing of a Crown official or employee.60 Therefore, privileges normally applicable to oral testimony, such as solicitor or work product privilege, cannot be affected by the Public Records Act.61 Conclusion Work product privilege serves a very useful purpose in our legal system. Since distinct distinctions have been made between the product of factual work and the product of opinion work, privilege as it exists today encourages the efforts of lawyers and others to protect and promote the interests of their clients through litigation by protecting the privacy rights of individuals. At the same time, it promotes the cause of justice in each case by allowing litigants, in certain circumstances, to obtain a relevant and necessary factual result to render a fair and correct judgment on the merits. But in other cases involving preliminary inquiries and incident reports, some courts adopt a broader interpretation of the «anticipation of litigation» requirement, noting that «even investigative documents are preferred when compiled in response to an event that could reasonably be expected to form the basis of a claim.» 22 The United States Supreme Court seems to be inclined to this view. In Upjohn Company v. United States, 101 S.Ct. 677 (1981), the Court emphasized that testimony recorded during an internal investigation of professional misconduct may be protected by privilege, even if the litigation is neither ongoing nor threatened, as long as there is a possibility that legal action will yield. Another issue that the courts are increasingly considering is whether communication between the lawyer and former employees of the client company, which takes place during or after employment, is preferred. Fla. R.

Civ. P. 1.280 (b) (3) defines the product of labor as «documents and other material things. in anticipation of litigation or trial. This rather broad definition has been narrowed because legal work, through a constant flow of litigation, has led to a set of rules and principles aimed at applying the doctrine with consistency and precision. Because privilege defeats the judicial purpose of bringing to light relevant evidence, it is interpreted narrowly and protects only disclosures necessary to obtain informed legal advice, which may not have been made without privilege. While communication can potentially be a product of protected labor to the extent that the lawyer`s mental impressions and legal theories are at stake, the courts are also divided on whether this doctrine applies to communication with former employees. There appears to be a conflict between the decisions of the district courts of appeal as to when privilege should be invoked. One court has held that privilege is waived unless it is expressly invoked in response to a request for disclosure.79 However, most other courts do not require a prompt appeal based on privilege as long as it is invoked prior to disclosure.80 Since there is an unresolved conflict between the courts on this issue, It is recommended to assert the privilege as soon as possible in order to avoid any topical arguments. The mere presence of a third party is likely to prevent the creation of professional secrecy. Most people know that lawyers must keep their clients` information confidential. The concept of privilege refers to confidentiality, but differs in a few important ways.

Alternatively, denial of privilege in respect of designs may be based on renunciation of «subject-matter». By voluntarily disclosing the final version, the Client waives privilege with respect to the content of the communication, including the underlying details of the information finally published. The drafts and documents used in the preparation of an estate tax return, a draft bankruptcy form, and proposed SEC filings were not considered privileged because of this reasoning. To be protected, communications must also reasonably be considered confidential. This means that the communication cannot be passed on to third parties. However, in the case of a client business, the lawyer`s conversations with an employee can generally be shared with other non-lawyer employees if information is requested at the request of the lawyer or if the lawyer`s legal advice is provided. A party`s claims that communications should be confidential do not do justice to the prosecution; The court will examine the circumstances to establish intent.