Legal Professional Privilege
Definition
A legal protection that shields communications between a lawyer and client, and materials prepared for litigation, from compelled disclosure. When a forensic report is commissioned at the direction of legal counsel for anticipated litigation, it may attract this protection in common-law jurisdictions.
- Protects
- Lawyer-client communications
- Also covers
- Litigation-preparation materials
- Jurisdiction type
- Common-law systems
- Trigger condition
- Commissioned by counsel for anticipated litigation
Common questions
Does every forensic audit report automatically attract privilege?+
No. Privilege generally requires that the report was commissioned by or at the direction of a lawyer for the dominant purpose of actual or anticipated litigation. A routine internal audit report commissioned by management for general business purposes typically does not qualify.
Can privilege be lost after a report is created?+
Yes. Sharing a privileged report with parties outside the protected relationship, such as circulating it broadly within a company or to a third party without a confidentiality arrangement, can waive the protection in many jurisdictions.
Related terms
- Daubert Standard
- The US expert-evidence framework associated with Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals and subsequent decisions, applied alongside Federal Rule of Evidence 702. Testing,...
- Expert Witness Duty
- The obligation owed by a forensic auditor appointed as an expert witness to assist the court, tribunal, or arbitral body objectively, overriding...
- Factual Report
- A forensic report that presents documented observations only: records examined, transactions identified, and amounts found. It does not state conclusions about intent,...
- Opinion Report
- A forensic report in which the examiner states a professional conclusion about what the evidence means, such as whether a control failure...
- Scope Limitation
- A restriction on the examiner's ability to complete the work: unavailable records, incomplete data, restricted access to personnel, or time constraints. Limitations...