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Glite Dictionary
attorney-client privilege

attorney-client privilege

31 7.2
A rule that keeps what you tell your lawyer secret unless you agree
  • noun
  • /əˈtɜrniˌklaɪənt ˈprɪvəlɪdʒ/
  • Formal
translation icon : secreto profesional
  • One of the big reasons the American legal system works is the idea of "attorney-client privilege."
  • waive the attorney-client privilege
  • protected by attorney-client privilege
  • protection of the attorney-client privilege

Examples

  • Anything that is protected by attorney-client privilege is still protected.

    Academic text (2002)

  • Attorney-client privilege goes back to the earliest days of English Common Law.

    Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (2016)

  • That way everything between us is subject to attorney-client privilege.

    Interstate 60 (2002)

  • This conversation is protected by attorney-client privilege.

    Jack Reacher (2012)

  • Only an attorney has attorney-client privilege.

    Hart's War (2002)

  • "I assume that whatever I tell you is covered by attorney-client privilege." "It is."

    Fiction book (1991)

  • Everything you tell me is confidential, attorney-client privilege.

    The Lincoln Lawyer (2011)

  • Sending an email does not constitute legal advice or create an attorney-client privilege.

    Blog text (8)

  • Yet lawyers know that without the attorney-client privilege in such instances, effective defense would be virtually impossible.

    Academic text (1993)

  • This conversation is protected by attorney-client privilege.

Synonyms

privilege
vsattorney-client privilege
  • Specialized
130 7.9

A legal right to keep certain information secret

applies only to confidential talks with a person's legal adviser, not all protected relationships

Surface Forms

attorney-client privilege singular
attorney-client privileges plural

Morphology

attorney-client + privilege

The meaning — a legal right protecting communications between a lawyer (attorney) and their client — follows directly from combining 'attorney' + 'client' (specifying the parties) with 'privilege' (a legal right or exemption). Although it is a technical legal term, the composition is literal and cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words can reasonably infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

The term attorney-client privilege comes from the idea that talks between an attorney and a client are private, like a conversation behind a closed door so the client can speak freely. That's why it means 'a right to keep lawyer and client talks secret' and why those talks usually cannot be shown in court.