Law
Balancing Public Interest in Legal Professional Privilege
Quick fact
Courts do not apply legal professional privilege absolutely; they reject it when the communications are themselves part of a crime or fraud, and they may weigh the public interest in disclosure in other exceptional cases, making the privilege a qualified right rather than an absolute one.
Why this is interesting
You have the right to keep your lawyer's advice secret—but what happens when that secrecy hides a crime or a threat to a child? When does the public's need to know outweigh your right to confidentiality?