Also known as: secrets · secrecy · confidential · confidentiality
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
Information kept from public knowledge or disclosed only under a duty of confidentiality.
Skylar Sullivan left her post at a federal agency after learning nonpublic details about a contractor's compliance failures. She later joined a firm asked to sue that same contractor on behalf of a competitor. The firm screens Sullivan and notifies the agency, allowing the representation to proceed without using the protected information.
Spencer Silver told his wife Sydney Santos in private that he had hidden assets from a prior business deal. During later litigation the government subpoenas Santos to testify about the conversation. The court upholds the privilege and bars compelled disclosure of the communication.
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Simon Stern's company Skyline Construction seeks discovery of a rival's proprietary testing protocols in a contract dispute. The rival moves for a protective order limiting access to designated counsel only. The court grants the order and requires the information to be revealed solely under seal.
Sebastian Santos consults counsel at Summit Bank about a potential regulatory inquiry and shares internal financial projections. The bank later faces a subpoena for those discussions. The court recognizes the communications as protected and denies production.
Sierra Santos purchases a cleaning product from Sapphire Technologies whose active ingredient is compounded under a secret formula. The label provides no adequate warnings about safe dilution. When the product causes severe burns, Santos recovers damages for the manufacturer's failure to supply proper directions.
A trustee drafts an exculpatory term for a trust benefiting Sebastian Santos after the settlor relies on the trustee's advice without independent counsel. The term is later challenged. The court refuses to enforce the clause because it resulted from abuse of the confidential relationship.
The marital communications privilege protects the content of confidential statements made between spouses during marriage. The spousal testimonial privilege instead allows one spouse to refuse to testify against the other. The communications privilege survives divorce while the testimonial privilege ends with the marriage.
A former government lawyer may not represent a private client adverse to a person about whom the lawyer possesses confidential government information if the information could materially disadvantage that person. Screening and notice requirements may allow the lawyer's firm to proceed in limited circumstances.
A party may obtain a protective order when discovery would reveal trade secrets or other confidential commercial information. The order may limit disclosure to designated persons or require sealed production. The court balances the need for the information against the risk of competitive harm.
No. The privilege is preserved when the third person's presence is reasonably necessary to the communication or when circumstances show an intent to maintain confidentiality. Courts examine whether the parties manifested an expectation of privacy rather than requiring literal solitude.
…of the United States and equally liable to be compelled, is also bound by the same rules of evidence. These duties are not confidential but public and his clerks have no exclusive privileges except as to facts concerning foreign correspondencies and confidential communications between the head of the department and the…