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For the Trustee's Ears OnlyFor the Trustee's Ears Only
The attorney-client privilege protects communications between clients and their attorneys by prohibiting their disclosure and admissibility in a judicial proceeding. But, when attorneys represent fiduciaries, the application of the attorney-client privilege becomes more complicated. That's because the fiduciary has duties to the beneficiaries, and those duties may be applied to the attorney representing
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The attorney-client privilege protects communications between clients and their attorneys by prohibiting their disclosure and admissibility in a judicial proceeding. But, when attorneys represent fiduciaries, the application of the attorney-client privilege becomes more complicated. That's because the fiduciary has duties to the beneficiaries, and those duties may be applied to the attorney representing that fiduciary. Courts in a number of jurisdictions will apply a fiduciary exception to the attorney-client privilege if a beneficiary sues a fiduciary and requests production of communications between the fiduciary and the attorney. Whether courts will apply this exception depends on the nature of the engagement, the jurisdiction, and at...
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