What is client privilege? And how I see it? I will be honest, I see it as one of those things that quietly holds society together. The things normal people will never hear that is mostly heard by lawyers, doctors, lawyers and priests. People trust them because they believe their conversation will stay confidential. They get the courage to speak the truth because they know their truth will remain as a secret forever. I often think about trust and the kind of world I want my family to live in.
Imagine a man who repairs old clocks for a living. He doesn't have a family, he lives with his relatives and often get taunts. Even when he works clients never behaves politely, usually they look at him as a lowly person. He was not feeling well mentally and decided to visit a doctor. When he visits the doctor, he quietly admits that he has been feeling angry for months. Then when the doctor asks for further explanation, he says "I have built a dangerous machine and I will plant it in the town during yearly fair. I want all of them dead." So, at that place you can already imagine hundreds of families including children. So, what should the doctor do now? If he stays silent, many innocent people could lose their lives. If the doctor speaks, the promise of privacy is broken.
It's easy to say, "Save the people." I would probably feel the same if my wife or daughters were among those at the fair. Their safety would mean everything to me. But then another question comes to mind. If the people we believe they start to reveal our secrets then will they still be honest? What if the clock repairman would never have spoken at all. Maybe he would have walked away with his dangerous plan still hidden.
The situation of this is very complicated. Client privilege is about giving a person safe place to admit their mistakes and it's not only about keeping secrets. People can ask for help or seek guidance before things become worse. If there's no guaranty that our secret is going to remain hidden then many problems would stay buried until they exploded into something much more serious.
But still there should be a rare exception when there is clear and immediate danger to innocent lives. In such situations these kind of people should be stopped to protect those lives, because a human life is more important than anything else. So, it should come first. But before revealing they need to make sure that it's just not a rumor or guesses. It should only happen when the danger is real and there is no other way to prevent it.
A world without client privilege would be a fearful one. People in legal trouble might refuse to tell the whole truth. For me, the answer is balance. As always keeping balance is very important. It is the key to every problem. The privacy should remain protected because it builds trust but when innocent lives are facing certain danger then saving those lives becomes the greater responsibility. A privilege is important but so is the duty to protect the lives of others.
Credits:
thumbnail is ai generated with chatgpt.
My Socials
Instagram
