Free Essays on Attorney-Client Privilege

The court's holding in Goldberger was not absolute, it acknowledged the possibility of special circumstances under which the disclosure of client- identifying information may be privileged. This narrow exception, however, does not apply to the plaintiff here. Special circumstances under which client- identity and fee information would be privileged exist when there is a direct link between the disclosure and the revelation of a confidential communication, or when the disclosure of client-identifying information would directly incriminate the client by providing the last link in an existing chain of evidence against the client. U.S. v. Goldberger U.S. v. Sindel, 53 F.3d 874 (8th Cir. 1995); U.S. v. Leventhal, 961 F.2d 936, 940 (11th Cir. 1992); Cf. U.S. v. Dichne, 612 F.2d 632, 640-641 (2d Cir. 1979). No such circumstances exist here. Plaintiff has not made any showing that including the client-identifying information omitted from the 8300 Form filed in July 1993 would reveal a confi dential communication or constitute the last link in a chain of incriminating evidence against its client. Thus, the information necessary to file a complete 8300 Form was not protected from disclosure under Goldberger, and the attorney-client privilege does not provide grounds upon which plaintiff can base its claim of reasonable cause warranting a waiver of the penalty assessed against it by the IRS.... Free Essays on Attorney-Client Privilege Free Essays on Attorney-Client Privilege The court's holding in Goldberger was not absolute, it acknowledged the possibility of special circumstances under which the disclosure of client- identifying information may be privileged. This narrow exception, however, does not apply to the plaintiff here. Special circumstances under which client- identity and fee information would be privileged exist when there is a direct link between the disclosure and the revelation of a confidential communication, or when the disclosure of client-identifying information would directly incriminate the client by providing the last link in an existing chain of evidence against the client. U.S. v. Goldberger U.S. v. Sindel, 53 F.3d 874 (8th Cir. 1995); U.S. v. Leventhal, 961 F.2d 936, 940 (11th Cir. 1992); Cf. U.S. v. Dichne, 612 F.2d 632, 640-641 (2d Cir. 1979). No such circumstances exist here. Plaintiff has not made any showing that including the client-identifying information omitted from the 8300 Form filed in July 1993 would reveal a confi dential communication or constitute the last link in a chain of incriminating evidence against its client. Thus, the information necessary to file a complete 8300 Form was not protected from disclosure under Goldberger, and the attorney-client privilege does not provide grounds upon which plaintiff can base its claim of reasonable cause warranting a waiver of the penalty assessed against it by the IRS....