Attorney-client privilege is the longest-standing legal tradition in Western law, predating the founding of our republic and Magna Carta. It is also the topic for this Bar Leader Toolkit.

We should be able to expect that a tradition as revered as attorney-client privilege would be kept intact and sacrosanct, but that is not the case. In recent years, actions by government agencies have eroded these rights.

This toolkit offers information that puts attorney-client privilege into perspective, outlining steps to preserve it. It offers two op-eds, one on why we should care about the privilege and the other on attorney-client privilege at a time of online transparency.

It also offers information for bar publications - a column and a Q-and-A - as well as a presentation suitable for legal or lay audiences and a bibliography for further reading.

Current ABA President H. Thomas Wells Jr. believes attorney-client privilege is important to the integrity of our legal system. He notes that without lawyers to help them, the people have nowhere to turn when they seek protection from government abuse. According to Wells, the freedom of the American people depends on the freedom of their lawyers to practice without government interference. We hope you agree.

As always, I welcome your thoughts on this toolkit.

Sincerely,

Roseanne Lucianek
Director, Bar Services

© 2008 American Bar Association