A proactive approach to legal privilege in the light of electronic communication

This article explores the proactive management of legal professional privilege (LPP) in the context of electronic communication, addressing the lack of clarity regarding how the shift to digital communication has affected this fundamental safeguard. Despite LPP being a cornerstone of democratic lega...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Gyurász Zoltán, Hamuľák Ondrej, Dražová Petra
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Sciendo 2025-03-01
Series:TalTech Journal of European Studies
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.2478/bjes-2025-0006
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849727315780567040
author Gyurász Zoltán
Hamuľák Ondrej
Dražová Petra
author_facet Gyurász Zoltán
Hamuľák Ondrej
Dražová Petra
author_sort Gyurász Zoltán
collection DOAJ
description This article explores the proactive management of legal professional privilege (LPP) in the context of electronic communication, addressing the lack of clarity regarding how the shift to digital communication has affected this fundamental safeguard. Despite LPP being a cornerstone of democratic legal systems, serving both client interests and the administration of justice, the implications of overreliance on electronic communication on this privilege remain largely unexplored. Several questions arise about how this impacts the LPP itself, what challenges attorneys face in maintaining this privilege in digital environments and whether the current legal frameworks are adequate to address the complexities introduced by these technologies. These questions mark a wide gap in understanding, as cases involving the misuse of technology and inadvertent disclosures have started to emerge. The proactive legal approach in lawyering could prioritize risk management and litigation avoidance while simultaneously enhancing the protection of legal privilege in this context. This paper argues that maintaining LPP currently presents unprecedented challenges and aims to advocate for proactive consideration of specific issues, allowing practitioners to preserve the integrity of client confidentiality and fair representation.
format Article
id doaj-art-b170a2688de04d3793f3944fccd13233
institution DOAJ
issn 2674-4619
language English
publishDate 2025-03-01
publisher Sciendo
record_format Article
series TalTech Journal of European Studies
spelling doaj-art-b170a2688de04d3793f3944fccd132332025-08-20T03:09:52ZengSciendoTalTech Journal of European Studies2674-46192025-03-011518310510.2478/bjes-2025-0006A proactive approach to legal privilege in the light of electronic communicationGyurász Zoltán0Hamuľák Ondrej1Dražová Petra21Faculty of Law, Institute of Information Technology Law and Intellectual Property Law, Comenius University in Bratislava, Šafárikovo nám. č. 6, P.O. box 313, Bratislava 810 00, Slovakia2Department of International and European Law, Palacký University Olomouc, 17. listopadu 930/8, Olomouc 779 00, Czech Republic; Department of Law, School of Business and Governance, Tallinn University of Technology, Ehitajate tee 5, Tallinn 19086, Estonia3Faculty of Law, Institute of Information Technology Law and Intellectual Property Law, Comenius University in Bratislava, Šafárikovo nám. č. 6, P.O. box 313, Bratislava 810 00, SlovakiaThis article explores the proactive management of legal professional privilege (LPP) in the context of electronic communication, addressing the lack of clarity regarding how the shift to digital communication has affected this fundamental safeguard. Despite LPP being a cornerstone of democratic legal systems, serving both client interests and the administration of justice, the implications of overreliance on electronic communication on this privilege remain largely unexplored. Several questions arise about how this impacts the LPP itself, what challenges attorneys face in maintaining this privilege in digital environments and whether the current legal frameworks are adequate to address the complexities introduced by these technologies. These questions mark a wide gap in understanding, as cases involving the misuse of technology and inadvertent disclosures have started to emerge. The proactive legal approach in lawyering could prioritize risk management and litigation avoidance while simultaneously enhancing the protection of legal privilege in this context. This paper argues that maintaining LPP currently presents unprecedented challenges and aims to advocate for proactive consideration of specific issues, allowing practitioners to preserve the integrity of client confidentiality and fair representation.https://doi.org/10.2478/bjes-2025-0006confidentialityelectronic communicationlegal professional privilegeproactive lawprofessional secrecy
spellingShingle Gyurász Zoltán
Hamuľák Ondrej
Dražová Petra
A proactive approach to legal privilege in the light of electronic communication
TalTech Journal of European Studies
confidentiality
electronic communication
legal professional privilege
proactive law
professional secrecy
title A proactive approach to legal privilege in the light of electronic communication
title_full A proactive approach to legal privilege in the light of electronic communication
title_fullStr A proactive approach to legal privilege in the light of electronic communication
title_full_unstemmed A proactive approach to legal privilege in the light of electronic communication
title_short A proactive approach to legal privilege in the light of electronic communication
title_sort proactive approach to legal privilege in the light of electronic communication
topic confidentiality
electronic communication
legal professional privilege
proactive law
professional secrecy
url https://doi.org/10.2478/bjes-2025-0006
work_keys_str_mv AT gyuraszzoltan aproactiveapproachtolegalprivilegeinthelightofelectroniccommunication
AT hamulakondrej aproactiveapproachtolegalprivilegeinthelightofelectroniccommunication
AT drazovapetra aproactiveapproachtolegalprivilegeinthelightofelectroniccommunication
AT gyuraszzoltan proactiveapproachtolegalprivilegeinthelightofelectroniccommunication
AT hamulakondrej proactiveapproachtolegalprivilegeinthelightofelectroniccommunication
AT drazovapetra proactiveapproachtolegalprivilegeinthelightofelectroniccommunication