Because the privilege only applies where the communications are confidential, one way that the privilege can be waived is if the information is disclosed to a third party. With few exceptions, the attorney-client privilege protects communications between a lawyer and her client as long as the communications are confidential and made for the purpose of obtaining legal advice. It is important for corporate counsel to be aware of these risks and take steps to protect the attorney-client privilege whenever privileged information is shared via online services. But, as two recent court decisions show, online file sharing also creates risks that the attorney-client privilege could be inadvertently waived. Rather than shipping a bankers box of documents, a client can simply upload the documents to Dropbox, Google Drive, or any number of file sharing sites that can be quickly and easily accessed.
The increased ease and availability of online storage and file transfer systems has made it much easier for lawyers to quickly share documents with their clients.
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