system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: What is the attorney-client privilege and when is it disregarded?
gpt
Attorney-client privilege is a privilege - a protection allowed under law, that protects communication between an attorney and their client and prevents them from being forced to testify.  This allows attorneys to do their job and be able to properly defend their client.  It's very hard to come up with a good defense if your lawyer can't discuss the elements of the case with you.

There are ways that the privilege can be broken.  If a third party is present, there can't be privileged (note co-counsel or other agents of the attorney don't count) and the attorney cannot use privilege to cover up crimes unrelated to the case at hand.