Not surprisingly, lawyers assessing the valuable attorney-client privilege usually focus on their legal advice to their clients. After all, the privilege has protected that advice since Roman times. But what about communications going the other way – from client to lawyer?
In AXA XL Insurance Co. UK Ltd. v. McPherson, Case No. 8:25-cv-202-WFJ-AAS, 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 75960 (M.D. Fla. Apr. 8, 2026), the court in a diversity case applied Florida privilege law to communications in England from a company’s executive director to its lawyer. The court easily found that the “email is protected by the attorney-client privilege because [the executive], whose involvement was reasonably necessary for the rendition of legal services . . . created the email to provide information for [the lawyer] to render legal advice concerning the claim file.” Id. at *10-11.
So the privilege can protect communications going both ways between a lawyer and her client. Of course, that protection depends on the substantive content the lawyer requires from the client before providing the advice. Next week’s Privilege Point addresses the protection’s application to communications that do not involve a lawyer at all.