Generally speaking, private conversations between an attorney and client are privileged and their contents cannot be discovered. The same is true with respect to an attorney’s work product and his mental thoughts and impressions. These privileges are so engrained in the law that Florida has codified them at Florida Statute Section 90.502 (attorney-client privilege) and Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.280(b)(4) (work product).

Also engrained in the minds of most practitioners is the idea that these privileges are destroyed if an otherwise-privileged communication or work product is disclosed to a third party. While this is generally true, there is an important exception: common interest.