Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

You should wait to give documents to the attorney until you have provided information necessary for a conflicts check.

The attorney will keep the information confidential. Some attorneys will familiarize themselves with the documentation quickly, others won't. Beyond that, it is impossible to generalize.

Any communication between you and your attorney or her/his law office is protected by the attorney-client privilege. That means that your attorney has an ethical obligation pursuant to the State Bar which prevents him/her from disclosing any protected information. That is a question you should have asked your potential attorney. Make sure you feel comfortable asking your attorney any relevant question before retaining his/her services.

The attorney-client privilege applies to initial consultations, even if the potential client does not ultimately hire the lawyer. But the privilege starts when the lawyer and the potential client agree to have such discussions, not before. If you fax documents to a lawyer who has not yet agreed to consult with you, the privilege might not apply. That doesn't mean the lawyer would disclose the documents; she very likely would treat them as if they were privileged. But it does mean the lawyer might later have to produce them if she receives a valid subpoena for them or is otherwise legally obliged to turn them over.