Last week’s Privilege Point described the Missouri Supreme Court’s understandable conclusion that a railroad employee did not have a personal attorney-client relationship with railroad lawyers who interviewed her about an...more
The very term “attorney-client privilege” would seem to necessitate a lawyer’s involvement in any communications deserving that evidentiary protection. But in some critical intra-corporate situations, the protection covers...more
Under Fed. R. Evid 502(d), a federal court can assure that an inadvertent disclosure of privileged documents in the case before it will not allow litigants in subsequent cases to argue that such disclosure triggered a...more
Because litigants frequently take an aggressive approach when withholding documents on privilege grounds, courts’ in camera reviews often result in a loss for them. But sometimes courts agree with a litigant’s privilege...more
Litigation adversaries often trigger privilege and work product disputes when they seek each other’s documents. But what if your client’s adversary subpoenas a third party holding your client’s privileged documents — whose...more
Last week’s Privilege Point described a court’s review of a lawyer’s conversation with a witness and its conclusion that none of the conversation deserved the heightened opinion work product protection. LaBudde v. Phoenix...more
Criminal defendants accused of white-collar crimes often deal with lawyers before and even while engaged in their alleged criminal misconduct. All or most lawyers have the vague notion that the attorney-client privilege can...more
Lawyers should always consider every possible evidentiary protection their clients might legitimately assert. To put it in basic terms, the ancient attorney-client privilege has the advantage of providing absolute protection...more
The attorney-client privilege benefits society by encouraging clients' frank disclosure to their lawyers, but it undeniably conceals highly relevant communications. Surprisingly, only a few courts have addressed plaintiffs'...more
In some situations, disclosure or reliance on privileged communications or protected work product triggers a "subject matter waiver" — requiring the owner's disclosure of additional related communications or work product....more