In my March 29^th post on the attorney client privilege, I specifically noted that communications between in-house (or outside) counsel and employees or former employees could be privileged if the purpose of the communication was to enable the attorney to provide legal advice.  As I just learned the other day, however, under some circumstances, communications between a lawyer and an independant contractor or consultant hired by the true client can be protected by the attorney client privilege.

Starting way back in 1994, the 8^th Circuit, in In re Bieter Company, held that the attorney client privilege could apply to communications between counsel and independent contractors of a client if “it [would be] inappropriate to distinguish between those on the client’s payroll and those who are instead, and for whatever reason, employed as independent contractors.”

While the Bieter case did not set forth a specific test to analyze under what circumstances a non-employees’ communications with counsel might remain privileged, a number of cases since have generally agreed that the key issue will be whether the individual is the “functional equivalent” of an employee.  So what does it mean to be the functional equivalent of an employee?  … Keep reading