Fiduciary Duty, Privileged Communication

Can an Entity’s Owners Access Its Privileged Communication?

McGuireWoods LLP on 2/20/2025

An entity’s minority shareholders or partners obviously look to the entity’s governance documents when assessing their rights and obligations. On the privilege front, minority owners sometimes aggressively seek the entity’s...more

Providers Negotiating with Doctors Who Have Restrictive Covenants Beware

Holland & Knight LLP on 7/20/2023

Providers negotiating with doctors and other medical professionals who are bound by enforceable restrictive covenants is tricky business. By virtue of his/her/their position, these physicians may owe fiduciary duties to the...more

Southern District of Ohio Acknowledges the "Fiduciary Exception's" Applicability to ERISA Communications — With a Twist

McGuireWoods LLP on 7/6/2023

Under what is called the "fiduciary exception," the law essentially deems a fiduciary's beneficiary to be the fiduciary’s lawyer’s actual "client." This normally enables the beneficiary to access communications between the...more

Pitfalls for Corporate Counsel in Business Divorce Disputes

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on 4/24/2023

No corporate lawyer wants to get drawn into a nasty litigation between an entity’s owners. But the reality is that corporate and general counsel often find themselves unwittingly ensnared in business divorce cases. Sometimes...more

The Oddly Named "Fiduciary Exception" and Its "Exceptions"

McGuireWoods LLP on 7/28/2022

Under old English trust law, courts gave trust beneficiaries access to otherwise privileged communications between the trust fiduciary and its lawyer advising him or her on trust administration matters. The main case bringing...more

A few lessons for internal and outside counsel from the WorldCom collapse - 20 years later

BCLP on 7/26/2022

It has now been 20 years since the historic collapse of WorldCom, Inc. (“WorldCom” or the “Company”). A review of the WorldCom collapse yields some continuing lessons for corporate counsel....more

Be Warned: As Fiduciary Duties Shift, So, Too, Can Privilege Ownership

Robins Kaplan LLP on 7/8/2022

Picture this. Years after leaving your in-house counsel role at Company A, you find yourself being deposed in a litigation matter with Company A’s adversary inquiring into your legal notes and internal privileged...more

Suing Attorneys In Texas For Participating in Fiduciary Breaches

Winstead PC on 6/6/2022

It is not uncommon for an attorney to execute all or part of his or her client’s wishes, which may be in breach of a fiduciary duty owed by the client to a third party. The third party can certainly sue the client for...more

Attorney-Client Privilege Issues: Three Ways Companies Can Shield Privileged Communications From Their Directors

ArentFox Schiff on 5/5/2022

Directors owe fiduciary duties to the company. To make informed decisions and satisfy those fiduciary duties, directors generally have broad access to the company’s books and records, with a few exceptions. A corporate...more

Chancery Finds Former Directors Bringing Wrongful Termination Claims Were Not Entitled to all Privileged Communications During...

Morris James LLP on 2/22/2022

SerVaas v. Ford Smart Mobility LLC, C.A. No. 2020-0909-LWW (Del. Ch. Nov. 9, 2021) - With limited exceptions, directors normally have “unfettered” access to corporate information. This decision indicates, however, that the...more

Chancery Holds That Management Does Not Have Unilateral Authority to Preclude a Director From Obtaining the Company’s Privileged...

Morris James LLP on 9/28/2020

In Re WeWork Litig., Consol. C.A. No. 2020-0258-AGB (Del. Ch. Aug. 21, 2020) - In October 2019, The We Company’s (the “Company”) board of directors established a special committee (the “Special Committee”) to evaluate a...more

Fiduciary Duty › Privileged Communication

Can an Entity’s Owners Access Its Privileged Communication?

Providers Negotiating with Doctors Who Have Restrictive Covenants Beware

Southern District of Ohio Acknowledges the "Fiduciary Exception's" Applicability to ERISA Communications — With a Twist

Pitfalls for Corporate Counsel in Business Divorce Disputes

The Oddly Named "Fiduciary Exception" and Its "Exceptions"

A few lessons for internal and outside counsel from the WorldCom collapse - 20 years later

Be Warned: As Fiduciary Duties Shift, So, Too, Can Privilege Ownership

Suing Attorneys In Texas For Participating in Fiduciary Breaches

Attorney-Client Privilege Issues: Three Ways Companies Can Shield Privileged Communications From Their Directors

Chancery Finds Former Directors Bringing Wrongful Termination Claims Were Not Entitled to all Privileged Communications During...

Chancery Holds That Management Does Not Have Unilateral Authority to Preclude a Director From Obtaining the Company’s Privileged...

Delaware Courts Address Common Interest Doctrine Issue: Part I

Life Insurer Compelled to Produce Attorney-Client Communications

PetSmart Tells PE Firms to GetSmart on Privilege

Pennsylvania Supreme Court Issues Landmark Decision Preserving the Corporate Attorney-Client Privilege

Does the Fiduciary Exception Apply to Legal Advice Received By Insurers During the Claims Process

New York Appellate Division Strongly Supports In-House Law Firm Privilege Claim

Fiduciary Duty › Privileged Communication

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