Insurance Companies and the Attorney-Client Privilege in Arizona
In this week’s Case of the Week, I dive into a critical decision from FTC v. Amazon.com, Inc. (August 1, 2024), which underscores the precarious nature of privilege in document production—particularly in the context of...more
Privilege logs have been getting a lot of attention, with good reason. “Privilege logging is arguably the most burdensome and time consuming task a litigant faces during the document production process.” The Sedona...more
Time to “spring” – into more eDiscovery case law! Our March 2024 monthly webinar of cases covered by the eDiscovery Today blog discusses disputes over in camera review of privilege logs, waiver of privilege over failing to...more
Last week's Privilege Point described a court's refreshingly correct acknowledgment that disclosing work product to friendly third parties does not waive that robust protection — in contrast to the more fragile privilege...more
Courts take differing positions on the "client's" identity in the government setting. Among other things, such differing positions might affect the waiver implications of one government agency disclosing its privileged...more
Under some arrangements, major shareholders appoint directors to companies those shareholders partially own. Does such a company waive its privilege by disclosing its privileged documents to a designating shareholder's...more
We all know that there are Federal and State rules that govern how eDiscovery is conducted, but legal professionals need examples to illustrate how the rules should be applied, and what NOT to do. This webinar will use actual...more
What began as a trademark infringement dispute concerning electronic cigarettes has evolved into a never-ending series of discovery issues, and lessons about the limits of Federal Rule of Evidence 502 and privilege waivers...more
During the early phases of a case, there are times where disclosure of privileged information may occur. Although lawyers should do everything to protect confidential client information, communications, and work-product...more
The English court does not like expert shopping. If a party seeks permission to change its expert, the court is likely to order disclosure of documents evidencing the previous expert’s views as the ‘price’ of the change, even...more
A ruling issued by the North Carolina Business Court last month could have a significant impact on the ability of North Carolina companies and counsel to assert the attorney-client privilege over communications exchanged in...more
Waiver of privilege and particularly inadvertent waiver of privilege is always a concern in e-discovery when producing documents to an outside party. Not only may your current litigation be affected but waiver may also affect...more
As if waiving privilege protection (either intentionally or inadvertently) was not frightening enough, the sinister subject matter waiver doctrine might force disclosure of additional privileged documents on the same topic....more
While much of the corporate legal world has been focused on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, a little-noticed case working its way through the federal courts in Washington, D.C. threatens to whittle down the scope of...more
A recent order from International Trade Commission Administrative Law Judge Elliott provides helpful guidance regarding a common ITC discovery dispute: whether a party may withhold from discovery as work product pre-suit test...more
The recent case of Financial Reporting Council Limited v Sports Direct International Plc1 serves as a reminder of the tension between companies wishing to protect privileged information and auditors receiving and relying upon...more
A circuit court ordered Montgomery Regional Hospital, Inc. to produce peer review reports and other similar documents due to its untimely and inadequate privilege log. In Creasy, Admr. v. Medical Assocs. of Southwest...more
Electronic discovery cases that made headlines in 2017 featured well-known names such as Taylor Swift and Lynyrd Skynyrd, and reached all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. As the year draws to a close, it’s a good time to...more
In 2008, Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) was signed and enacted into law by Congress to minimize the cost of civil litigation, particularly in matters with large volumes of ESI. The intent of the rule is to allow parties to...more
Last week's Privilege Point described a New York court's predictable waiver conclusion based on a client's description of his intended future conduct -- explicitly attributed to lawyers' advice. Siras Partners LLC v....more
Bad faith litigation is complex and costly. In these types of cases, the discovery process often sets the initial tone of the lawsuit and the request for production of the insurer’s claim file is automatic. Typically, the...more
Once a feared effect of disclosing privileged communications (sometimes even inadvertently), subject matter waivers now occur in most courts only when a litigant attempts to gain some advantage in litigation by affirmatively...more
In This Issue: - Attorney-Client Privilege/Work Product Decisions: ..Decisions Protecting Against Disclosure ..Decisions Ordering Disclosure Other - Spoliation Decisions: ..Spoliation Sanctions...more
When a regulator comes knocking at your door, with an order compelling the production of documents, how should you treat communications between you and your lawyers? Are you required to produce privileged documents to the...more
In the ongoing saga which has been the subject of a previous post on this blog, a three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals has once again found that the district court erred in ordering the production of the...more