Identifying the Client in a Corporate Family

Abstract

The attorney-client privilege is a well-established tenet of law that balances two competing interests—the need for a disclosure of facts that could lead to an equitable conclusion in litigation, and the need to protect communications between counsel and client to promote candid and comprehensive discourse that could lead to an equitable conclusion in litigation. The attorney-client privilege has evolved in time to evade obsolescence. This Comment discusses the evolution of the attorney-client privilege in the context of modern corporate law. This Comment addresses when it becomes appropriate to extend the privilege between separate corporations that are affiliated by ownership. Many courts focus the analysis on the degree of ownership, whether wholly owned, majority owned, or merely affiliated. Although the degree of affiliation carries pronounced import in the analysis, it alone should not be dispositive. A proper determination cannot be reached without consideration of other essential factors and the underlying policy.