The Client, the In-house Counsel, And ‘The Advocate’: How Can A Corporation Navigate Issues Concerning Confidentiality?

In many legal jurisdictions, including India, confidentiality of professional communications exchanged with a lawyer is protected only if the lawyer is not its ‘client’s’ employee i.e., the lawyer is ‘independent’. An independent lawyer is often negatively defined by the absence of any employment relationship with its client. Exchange of confidential information within a company internally does not fall within the realm of protection afforded to an independent lawyer. This is primarily because a fully salaried employee remains encumbered, or such is the assumption, by commercial considerations suited to the best interests of its employer-corporation.