State ex rel. Leslie v. Ohio Housing Finance Agency

{¶ 1} In this case, we must decide whether the attorney-client privilege applies to state agencies and their in-house counsel when that counsel is not an Assistant Attorney General. After examining the scope and purpose of the attorney-client privilege, we conclude that the privilege applies to government clients and that notwithstanding various statutes cited in opposition, the privilege exists between a state agency and its in-house counsel even if that counsel is not an Assistant Attorney General.

{¶ 2} From August 2000 through February 2002, the Ohio Department of Development employed…