Can communications between a solicitor and his clients be privileged?
British Columbia, Canada
The following excerpt is from Radke v. M.N.R., 1996 CanLII 1660 (BC SC):
6 The parties agree that oral and written communications between a solicitor and his clients are privileged. Also agreed is that the work product of the solicitor including working papers and drafts of documents would, ordinarily, be privileged. However, communications and the resultant work product made in order to facilitate the commission of a crime or fraud, regardless of whether or not the lawyer is acting in good faith, are not privileged: Descoteaux v. Mierzwinski 1982 CanLII 22 (SCC), [1982] 1 S.C.R. 860.
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