The following excerpt is from Cohen v. Trump, Civil No. 13-CV-2519-GPC (WVG) (S.D. Cal. 2015):
"[S]ince the privilege has the effect of withholding relevant information from the factfinder, it applies only where necessary to achieve its purpose." Fisher v. United States, 425 U.S. 391, 403 (1976). The privilege ceases to serve this purpose when a client "consults an attorney for advice that will serve him in the commission of a fraud..." Clark v. United States, 289 U.S. 1, 15 (1933). In Clark, the United States Supreme Court emphatically stated that a client who seeks legal advice for the commission of a crime or fraud "will have no help from the law. He must let the truth be told." Id.
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