The attorney-client privilege seems like a simple enough concept, but it is full of complexities.  Anesthesiologists and administrators who handle communications with their groups’ lawyers need to know how to protect the privilege.  Ongoing whistleblower litigation, U.S. ex rel. Baklid-Kunz v. Halifax Hospital Medical Center, Case No: 6:09-cv-1002, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 158944 (M.D. Fla. Nov. 6, 2012), offers valuable guidance. The attorney-client privilege shields certain confidential information from discovery or from admission into evidence in a court proceeding.  The communication is protected so long as (1) it was between attorney and client, (2) it was made in confidence for the purpose of rendering legal advice and (3) it remains confidential.   Communications with outside counsel are presumed to be privileged, but the presumption is rebuttable.  The burden of proving that the privilege has been lost or waived is on the other party.   In the case of communications with in-house counsel, whose...