What's the Tea in L&E? Can You Share An Employee's Medical Info?
Last week’s Privilege Point noted the Southern District of New York’s privilege expert’s opinion confirming the modern view that an extrajudicial disclosure of a privileged communication normally does not trigger a subject...more
All lawyers worry that waiving privilege protection for some communications might trigger a damaging subject matter waiver requiring disclosure of related communications. Such a subject matter waiver risk normally does not...more
Important lessons for Hong Kong organisations managing cyber accidents may be learned from the noteworthy ruling in a recent Australia case, Singtel Optus Pty Ltd v. Robertson [2024]. For background, from 17-20 September...more
The landscape of construction litigation has undergone a seismic shift in recent years. Gone are the days of crowded hotel conference rooms for mediations and face-to-face depositions. Today, construction litigators find...more
What’s the Tea in L&E is a video series focused on the latest trends and updates in labor and employment law. In this short video, Woods Rogers L&E attorneys Leah Stiegler and Emily Kendall Chowhan discuss when and how it is...more
In contrast to the somewhat abstract doctrine-driven attorney-client privilege, courts have described the work product doctrine as “intensely practical.” Their treatment of defendants’ surveillance videotape of personal...more
In 2013, then Chancellor Leo Strine determined that under Section 259 of the Delaware General Corporation Law the attorney-client privilege held by the target company follows to the surviving company after a merger. Great...more
Many if not most clients and even some ill-informed lawyers think they can “make” something privileged through some logistical step — such as marking it as “privileged,” copying a lawyer, inviting a lawyer to a meeting, etc....more
In some cases involving voluminous or complicated privilege issues, courts rely on special masters to make the privilege calls. Courts often call on well-respected private lawyers, or sometimes academics (which not...more
As anyone faced with discovery requests knows, one of the most important parts of producing documents is determining what documents are subject to attorney-client privilege or work product doctrine and must therefore be...more
In many cases, clients tend to place their trust, and often their livelihood, in the hands of their attorney. This expectation can be easily traced back to the attorney-client privilege, one of the oldest common-law...more
Unlike an intentional or unintentional express waiver involving actual disclosure of a privileged communication, a litigant can trigger an implied waiver by relying on the fact of such a privileged communication rather than...more
Attorney-client privilege protection depends on a communication’s content — which must be primarily motivated by the client’s request for legal advice....more
I’m not a cyber expert, but as a compliance professional with accountability for internal investigations of employee and third-party misconduct I’ve had a front row seat to the evolution of risk that has mirrored the mass...more
The new flexible work environment created in the post-pandemic years poses unique challenges for companies and individuals who work outside a traditional office. The SEC knows this and is actively enforcing the securities...more
In early 2023, the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB or “Board”) decision in McLaren Macomb, 372 NLRB 58, revoked employers’ ability to require their employees to keep the terms of severance packages confidential and to...more
The New York Court of Appeals recently clarified and reinforced the attorney-client privilege, explaining that certain internal training materials reflecting legal analysis of statutory, regulatory, and decisional law...more
The last two Privilege Points have addressed some federal courts’ inexplicable application in diversity cases of their host states’ substantive privilege law rather than their host states’ choice of law rules. Some states...more
With its origins in the 16th century, the attorney-client privilege is one of the oldest doctrines in our common law tradition. Even so, new issues do arise, like in the North Carolina Business Court case Hosie v. 8 Rivers...more
An organization that has suffered a data breach likely does not want to have to disclose potentially embarrassing or harmful information, especially in a lawsuit resulting from the breach. Simply involving an attorney in...more
A bedrock feature of the attorney-client relationship is the privilege protecting legal-advice communications from prying eyes. Confidential communications between a client and her lawyer are protected to a degree not found...more
A BP executive's husband pleaded guilty to securities fraud for buying and selling stock of BP's merger target. He knew of the upcoming transaction because he and his wife worked from home approximately 20 feet from each...more
Last week’s Privilege Point described the illogical but scary Vioxx doctrine, which some courts apply to deny privilege protection ab initio to intra-corporate communications simultaneously seeking advice both from lawyers...more
Lawyers representing corporations all recognize the privilege waiver risk of disclosure to outsiders. But there are two huge risks to privilege protection even for internal corporate communications. Pointing to the “primary...more
Corporations risk waiving their fragile privilege protection by sharing protected communications with even the friendliest outsiders — such as their retained public relations consultants, etc. They must disclose some...more