Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: conversation recording

Mr. Hoffman is entirely correct in his response. You also run the risk that the other side makes a request for product of documents and includes a request for all conversations recorded by any means, your attorney fails to object in time or the other side files a motion to try to get the recording and then they may very well be entitled to listen to it.

Re: conversation recording

So long as you tell the lawyer you intend to record the meeting, and the lawyer allows it. However, you had better protect that recording and allow no other person to listen to it. If anyone other than you and the lawyer ever listens to the recording, you risk the very real possibility that a court may, at some time in the future, rule that you have waived the attorney-client privilege.

The attorney-client privilege protects communications between an attorney and the client from disclosure to any other person. If the privilege is waived (which can occur if the communication is disclosed to a third party), anything on the recording can be used against you in court.

You can see that in certain situations, waiving the attorney-client privilege could seriously impact the outcome of the matter.