A close family member recently passed away and left everything to one of my close relatives.?

The deceased person was an attorney and they left behind all their notes on all their clients. We were figuring that a law student or class could benefit from these notes, would it be illegal to turn that over to a college or something? What about lawyer = client privelidge? Just wondering - we would hate to throw all that stuff out if it could benefit someone?
Please do not give the notes to anyone but the State Bar. You would be violating the privacy of the clients. Call the bar for guidance.
I would contact the state bar association and ask their advice.
well it would not violate client privileges,unless the client was your client.i believe we need every bit of knowledge we can acquire .i myself would like to sell life insurance policies to foreigners that are conducting business in the u s and have the money from the policies put into a foundation for americans that are homeles jobless or in need medical insurance .hell if they want to profit from this great land there life should depend on also giving.it is our country..sort of a better be good policy beneficiary of course 10 am treason
Call the Bar Association and/or a couple of lawyers(they will not charge for first time calls). What a great question.


Answer:
You may absolutely not turn the notes over to anyone else. There are very strict ethical rules regarding this material. The basic gist of it is this- attorney client privilege is forever. It lasts after the death of the client and after the death of the lawyer. As an example:

The law firm that represented Lizzy Borden (Lizzy Borden took an ax / gave her mother forty whacks) has the client notes from her representation back in the 1800s. It is rumored to include a confession. Borden is loooong dead, as is anyone who represented her. The client file is still kept, under lock and key.

You ought to contact the local bar association for the county that the family member practiced in. They can help you determine what needs to be done. It may be shredding, burning, or otherwise destroying the file. It may also be turning the files over to a single attorney to be kept under privilege. It might also be contacting the clients and turning the files back over to them. In absolutely no instance will it be turning the files over to a local college. The rules will vary from state to state, so the local bar association, while they won't take them, will help you figure out what you need to do.
all the files and notes are still covered by the atty client law