When can privilege be waived?

• A. When the client waives it, when the matter is no longer confidential, or when required by law or a court order.
• B. Privilege can never be waived.
• C. Only by court order.
• D. By the barrister's discretion.

Answer: (A)

The important point is that legal professional privilege protects confidential lawyer–client communications, but it is not absolute. It can be waived in a few ways: the client may expressly or implicitly consent to disclosure, effectively waiving the privilege; confidentiality can be lost if the information is shared with someone outside the protected context; and privilege can be overridden when a law or a court order requires disclosure.

This fits the option that privilege can be waived by the client, by the loss of confidentiality, or by legal or judicial compulsion. It isn’t correct to say it can never be waived, nor that it is only waived by a court order, nor that it’s at the barrister’s discretion.