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Legal Services Act 2011

Administration of legal services system - Miscellaneous provisions - Disclosure of information

109: Disclosure of privileged communications under section 92 or 96

You could also call this:

"When Lawyers Must Share Private Information"

Illustration for Legal Services Act 2011

You have the right to keep private what you tell your lawyer. But if the law says your lawyer must share information under section 92 or 96, they have to do it. This means they must give files, records, or statements even if they are private. You might wonder if sharing this information affects your right to keep it private. It does not, except when it is used for an audit under section 92 or 96, or as evidence in an investigation. If your private information is shared for these reasons, it must not be used against you. Your lawyer must not share your private information in a way that hurts you. They also cannot use it in court cases against you. This helps keep your private information safe.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM3142955.

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Part 3Administration of legal services system
Miscellaneous provisions: Disclosure of information

109Disclosure of privileged communications under section 92 or 96

  1. No rule of law conferring any privilege on communications of a professional character between a lawyer and his or her client may prevent, limit, or affect the production of a file, record, document, or statement or the giving of information under section 92 or 96.

  2. The production of a file, record, document, or statement or the giving of information under section 92 or 96 does not subsequently affect any legal professional privilege to which the file, record, document, statement, or information may be subject, except for the purposes of—

  3. an audit taken under section 92 or 96; or
    1. evidence in an investigation by the performance review committee.

      1. Information produced for the purposes stated in subsection (2)(a) or (b) that is protected by legal professional privilege must not be used—

      2. in any proceedings against the client; or
        1. in any way that is detrimental to the client.