Attorney-Client Privilege

Communications regarding legal matters with the Office of the Senior Vice President and General Counsel (OGC) attorneys on behalf of Rutgers are ordinarily protected by attorney-client privilege (as legal rules permit) and are confidential. You play a part in maintaining the attorney-client privilege. If you are an employee of Rutgers University and in communication with the OGC attorneys, you are obligated to keep all communications strictly confidential.

The attorney-client privilege is a law that protects communications between attorneys and their clients and keeps them confidential. This privilege encourages openness and honesty between attorneys and their clients because attorneys cannot reveal (and cannot be forced to reveal) attorney-client communications. This privilege becomes especially important in the litigation context because privileged communications, whether written or oral, are not disclosed to the opposing party.

To advise a client properly, an attorney must have a complete knowledge of the facts, including any "bad" or damaging facts. The attorney-client and attorney work-product privileges create a protection of privacy so that university personnel can candidly inform the attorney of all the facts in a confidential and privileged setting.