If a minor has consulted with an attorney at the behest of his parents, and admits to something despite his telling the parents a different story, is the attorney at liberty to divulge the admittance to the parents who are the paying customer? Does the fact the client is a minor matter as far as confidentiality?

A lawyer is bound by the same attorney-client privilege and duty of confidentiality to a juvenile client as to an adult client. It does not matter who pays the fee. It does not matter that the legal consultation was at the behest of the parents. Whatever a person divulges to his or her attorney is confidential and between the two of them. The lawyer's obligation is to the client whose representation he or she has undertaken. Ethical rules prevent the lawyer from sharing that information absent the consent of the client. The lawyer for a juvenile is obligated to safeguard the juvenile's information and secrets from parents and guardians. Interviews should be conducted outside the presence of the parents. The lawyer should make this clear to parents who retain his or her services for their child. It's also a good idea to ask the parents to refrain from asking the child details about the interview because it could compromise the attorney-client privilege. A client can waive the attorney-client privilege and authorize disclosures to third parties. But that carries a risk -- the prosecutor could then call the third party to the stand to testify about the statements made to the lawyer. There is no parent-child privilege like there is a privilege between spouses. Parents also have no right to inspect the files of their child's lawyer or review his or her notes or discovery without their child's expressed consent.