Hat tip to The Legal Profession Blog:
From Stengart v. Loving Care Agency, Inc. (NJ, en banc) (March 30, 2010):
This case presents novel questions about the extent to which an employee can expect privacy and confidentiality in e-mails with her attorney, which she sent and received through her personal, password-protected, web-based e-mail account using an employer-issued computer.
The Court held that an employee “could reasonably expect that e-mail communications with her lawyer through her personal, password-protected, web-based e-mail account would remain private, and that sending and receiving them using a company laptop did not eliminate the attorney-client privilege that protected them.” Employer’s counsel violated Rule 4.4(b) by reading those e-mails and failing to promptly notify the employee. The court noted that no reported New Jersey decision offered direct guidance on the issue.