CO · rules
CRE 502
Attorney-Client Privilege and Work Product; Limitations on Waiver
The following provisions apply, in the circumstances set out, to disclosure of a communication or information covered by the attorney-client privilege or work-product protection.
(a) Disclosure Made in a Colorado Proceeding or to a Colorado Office or Agency;
Scope of a Waiver. When the disclosure is made in a Colorado proceeding or to an office
or agency of a Colorado state, county, or local government and waives the attorney-client
privilege or work-product protection, the waiver extends to an undisclosed communication
or information in a Colorado proceeding only if:
(1) the waiver is intentional;
(2) the disclosed and undisclosed communications or information concern the same
subject matter; and
(3) they ought in fairness to be considered together.
(b) Inadvertent Disclosure. When made in a Colorado proceeding or to an office or
agency of a Colorado state, county, or local government, the disclosure does not operate as
a waiver in a Colorado proceeding if:
(1) the disclosure is inadvertent;
(2) the holder of the privilege or protection took reasonable steps to prevent disclosure;
and
(3) the holder promptly took reasonable steps to rectify the error, including (if applicable) following C.R.C.P. 26(b)(5)(B).
(c) Disclosure Made in a Federal or other State Proceeding. When the disclosure is
made in a proceeding in federal court or the court of another state and is not the subject of
a court order concerning waiver, the disclosure does not operate as a waiver in a Colorado
proceeding if the disclosure:
(1) would not be a waiver under this rule if it had been made in a Colorado
proceeding; or
(2) is not a waiver under the law governing the state or federal proceeding where the
disclosure occurred.
(d) Controlling Effect of a Court Order. A Colorado court may order that the
privilege or protection is not waived by disclosure connected with the litigation pending
before the court - in which event the disclosure is also not a waiver in any other
proceeding.
(e) Controlling Effect of a Party Agreement. An agreement on the effect of disclosure in a Colorado proceeding is binding only on the parties to the agreement, unless it is
incorporated into a court order.
(f) Definitions. In this rule:
(1) ‘‘attorney-client privilege’’ means the protection that applicable law provides for
confidential attorney-client communications; and
(2) ‘‘work-product protection’’ means the protection that applicable law provides for
tangible material (or its intangible equivalent) prepared in anticipation of litigation or for
trial.
History
Source: Adopted, effective March 22, 2016. ANNOTATION Law reviews. For article, ‘‘Colorado Rule of Evidence 502: Preserving Privilege and Work Product Protection in Discovery’’, see 45 Colo. Law. 19 (Oct. 2016).
Provenance
- Source
- content.leg.colorado.gov
- Retrieved
- 2026-09-15
- Edition
- 2026-09-15
- Content hash
50ecb522f3d19dda7730d5b64800472318c972948bb95da18fd8ee566757e5a7
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