Opinion ID: 677013
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Billing, Expense, and Travel Reports

Text: 52 The district court held that the billing records, expense reports, and travel records of counsel are not generally privileged as attorney-client communications. The attorney-client privilege normally does not extend to the payment of attorney's fees and expenses. United States v. (Under Seal), 774 F.2d 624, 628 (4th Cir.1985), cert. denied, 475 U.S. 1108, 106 S.Ct. 1514, 89 L.Ed.2d 913 (1986). See also United States v. In re Grand Jury Matter, 789 F.Supp. 693, 695 (D. Md.1992) (fee arrangement information revealing the date and amount of payments and the identity of the persons making the payments are not privileged because these facts reveal nothing about the advice sought or given); In re Grand Jury Matter (Special Grand Jury Narcotics) (Under Seal), 926 F.2d 348, 349 (4th Cir.1991) (attorney-client privilege and Sixth Amendment do not prohibit disclosure of fee arrangements between attorneys and clients). After reviewing the appellants' in camera submission summarizing those documents, the court was not convinced that any of them would reveal a confidential communication. As noted in Grand Jury Matter, 789 F.Supp. at 696, the attorney-client privilege does not function to prevent disclosure of damaging or incriminating information, rather, it protects against disclosure of confidential professional communications. The appellants did not carry their burden of establishing that disclosure of the billing records would disclose confidential communications. There was no possibility of a work product claim with respect to those documents.