Also known as: client lawyer relationship · client-lawyer relationships · attorney-client relationship · lawyer-client relationship
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
The professional association formed when a lawyer agrees to provide or a person seeks legal services in a matter. Formation triggers duties of loyalty, confidentiality, and competent representation. The association can arise from an initial consultation even without a formal retainer when the lawyer offers advice and the prospective client reasonably relies on it.
Cade Carpenter meets with attorney Connor Clark to discuss a potential contract dispute and shares details about the opposing party's conduct. Clark listens, asks follow-up questions about the timeline, and offers preliminary thoughts on possible claims. Under the governing rule, Carpenter qualifies as a prospective client from the moment the consultation begins.
Cassandra Cooper confides in her criminal defense lawyer about involvement in a financial scheme during a confidential meeting. Cooper dies before charges are filed. Years later the government seeks the lawyer's notes to prosecute Cooper's associates. The privilege continues to shield the communications despite the client's death.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Coastal Shipping hires counsel to defend a cargo claim and agrees that its insurer will pay the fees. The insurer attempts to direct strategy on settlement offers. Counsel refuses the direction, explaining that the arrangement must preserve independent judgment and the ongoing relationship with Coastal Shipping.
Curtis Cannon meets with a lawyer to evaluate a possible medical malpractice claim after his surgery. The lawyer reviews records, states that the facts do not appear to support a case, and says he will check with a partner. Cannon reasonably relies on the assessment and waits a year before consulting other counsel, allowing the statute of limitations to expire.
Camila Cervantes, a lawyer, offers regulatory compliance audits through a separate LLC she controls. The LLC shares office space and staff with her law firm, and proposals arrive on firm letterhead. Because Cervantes fails to take reasonable steps to inform clients that the audits are not legal services, the protections of the client-lawyer relationship apply to the work.
Catherine Carter, an ACLU attorney, writes to a woman who attended a public meeting about possible sterilization abuse. The letter explains the organization's interest in supporting litigation and offers further information. The communication is protected because it assists the recipient in deciding whether to form a client-lawyer relationship.
The relationship begins when a person consults a lawyer about forming a client-lawyer relationship with respect to a matter. Duties can also arise from an initial consultation where the lawyer gives legal advice and the prospective client reasonably relies on it, even without a formal retainer.
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No. The privilege survives the client's death indefinitely. The policy rationale is that clients will communicate more fully and frankly if they know their statements will remain confidential even after death.
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Yes, provided the client gives informed consent, there is no interference with the lawyer's independent professional judgment or with the client-lawyer relationship, and information remains protected under Rule 1.6.
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The rules apply if the services are not distinct from the lawyer's legal practice or if the lawyer fails to take reasonable measures to assure recipients know the services are not legal services and that the protections of the client-lawyer relationship do not exist.
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…of litigation in the name of the signer. Fourth , there is substantial evidence indicating that the normal incidents of the attorney-client relationship were often absent in litigation handled by staff lawyers and financed by petitioner. Forms signed by prospective litigants have on occasion not contained the name of the attorney authorized…