Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California
In a discovery phase of a civil litigation, I wrote an e-mail to a legal assistant of a law firm that represented me. Can I protect that e-mail as privileged since it contained some information I do not want revealed to my adversary? The e-mail was not to an attorney but his legal assistant.
5 Answers from Attorneys
Yes, it is covered by the attorney client privledge
Yes, if it was about the matter in which the law firm represented you. If it was about something else (say, a personal note to the assistant) then it probably isn't privileged.
Mr. Hoffman is correct. It depends on the content and purpose of the communication. If it was in furtherance of the legal representation and contained private information, it is under the umbrella of the attorney-client privilege.
Aside from the above answers being correct, it is unlikely that the other side will ask you for all written communications you have sent on the case, although they might ask you at your deposition, at which time you could say that you assume they are excluding "communications with the firm representing you."
When I answered earlier I presumed that you are still litigating the same case in which the law firm represented you. I believe the other lawyers who have responded made the same presumption. But it's possible that this is a new case and that the law firm is now your adversary. That would be true if, for example, you sued the firm for malpractice. Depending upon the nature of the case, you might not be able to invoke the attorney-client privilege against the firm you were communicating with. You may want to discuss your situation in more detail with a lawyer in order to learn more about your rights.