Fact · Voice privacy and security
Under Federal Rule of Evidence 502, an inadvertent disclosure of privileged material does not waive the privilege when the holder took reasonable steps to prevent it and promptly took reasonable steps to fix the error.
Checked against its source on October 17, 2026
In the source's own words
“The holder of the privilege took reasonable steps to prevent disclosure; and The holder promptly took reasonable steps to rectify the error.”
Attorney-client privilege, Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School (Wex), 2026, Section on exceptions and waiver, Federal Rules of Evidence 502.
Open the original- What it measures
- Cornell Law School's legal information site summarizes Federal Rule of Evidence 502, which governs waiver in federal proceedings. Its three conditions are that the disclosure was inadvertent, that the holder took reasonable steps to prevent it, and that the holder promptly fixed the error.
- What it does not show
- The rule applies in federal proceedings. State courts have their own waiver rules. The page is a summary, and the rule's text should be checked before relying on it in a specific matter.