The California Supreme Court in L.A. County Bd. Supervisors v. Super. Ct. (ACLU of SoCal) holds that the attorney-client privilege applies to everything in an attorney’s invoice, including the amount of aggregate fees, when a legal matter remains pending and active “even if the information happens to be transmitted in a document that is not itself categorically privileged.”
“…[T]he contents of an invoice are privileged only if they either communicate information for the purpose of legal consultation or risk exposing information that was communicated for such a purpose. This latter category includes any invoice that reflects work in active and ongoing litigation.”
However, the attorney-client privilege protects billing information only to the extent it is “for the purpose of legal representation.” The privilege turns on whether invoices reveal anything about legal consultation. If they do not, that information is not privileged. For example, aggregate fee totals for legal matters that concluded long ago may not always be privileged because aggregate fee totals may not reveal the substance of legal consultation.
Mr. Daymude consults with clients and accepts cases involving privileges, including the attorney-client privilege. For other types of cases accepted, please scroll the Home and My Practice pages. If you are seeking a legal consultation or representation, call Michael Daymude at 818-971-9409.