Attorney-client privilege

What attorney-client privilege means

Put simply, attorney-client privilege is part of the working vocabulary of a civil case. The short definition above covers the usual meaning. Still, a specific rule, statute or contract can give it a narrower meaning. For that reason, check how it is used in your own documents.

Where attorney-client privilege comes up

For example, the term appears in these procedures:

• Motion for a Protective Order (Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(c)): a request that the court, for good cause, protect a party or person from annoyance, embarrassment, oppression, or undue burden or expense in discovery.

How to research the term

Start with the primary source. For example, if attorney-client privilege appears in a federal rule, read the rule itself and its official notes. After that, check your court’s local rules and any standing orders from the judge. In addition, search recent decisions from your own state or federal district. They show how courts read attorney-client privilege in practice. Because state rules often differ, our state procedures guide links to each state’s official rules. Above all, make sure the version you read is still in force.

You can read the official rule text online for free.

Related legal terms

• Protective order: a court order limiting discovery to protect a party or person from annoyance, embarrassment, oppression, or undue burden or expense.
• Privilege: a legal right to withhold certain information from discovery or testimony, such as attorney-client privilege.
• Work product: materials prepared in anticipation of litigation or for trial, which receive protection from discovery under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(3).
• Meet and confer: a required good-faith attempt by the parties to resolve a dispute before asking the court to decide it.

Why precise terms matter

Legal words often look like everyday words, but they can carry a precise meaning. Because of that, a small misreading can change how you understand a deadline, a duty or a right. Our glossary keeps each definition short and links it to the procedures where it matters.