Compliance into the Weeds: The SEC and Climate Disclosures
PODCAST: Trending Now An IP Podcast - Patent Office Secrecy Orders
Life Sciences Quarterly (Q3 2019): SEC Enforcement and Class Actions Regarding FDA Communications
Impact of environmental, social and governance agenda on tax
This Week in FCPA-Episode 80, The Last Jedi Edition
Life Sciences Quarterly: A View From Washington: What to Expect From the SEC
Compliance into the Weeds-Episode 39, Disclosure of Ransomware Attacks
Martz v. Polaris Sales Inc., Case. No. 4:22-CV-01390, 2024 WL 199550 (M.D. Pa. Jan. 18, 2024) - In this product liability case, the plaintiff’s wife lost control of the ATV she was operating and died in a fatal accident. A...more
I. THE ATTORNEY-CLIENT PRIVILEGE - Historically, the attorney-client privilege developed upon two assumptions: (1) good legal assistance requires full disclosure of a client’s legal problems; and (2) a client will only ...more
Yesterday, I wrote about the Securities and Exchange Commission's attempt to force the prominent law firm of Covington & Burling LLP. In some discussions about the case, some have assumed that the concern is about...more
When a company discovers that a crime may have been committed by individuals within the company, or is alerted by the government of that possibility, the company will often hire an outside law firm to conduct an internal...more
In our last newsletter, we analyzed the reluctance of courts to apply privilege to the work of forensic computer consultants following data breaches. Here, we address often unavailing efforts to fit communications with...more
Another district court just ordered the defendant in a data breach class action to turn over the forensic report it believed was entirely protected from disclosure by the attorney-client privilege and work product doctrine....more
Under an amendment to New Jersey Rule of Evidence (N.J.R.E.) 530 (Waiver of Privilege by Contract or Previous Disclosure), a “safe harbor” is available effective July 1, 2020, to clients and attorneys who inadvertently...more
In high-profile cases in 2001 and 2003, federal courts recognized exceptions to the third-party waiver rule for privileged communications shared with public relations (PR) consultants. Since then, courts have repeatedly been...more
Pharmavite LLC filed a statement of loss under a policy issued by Crum & Forster Specialty Insurance Co. Crum & Forster disclaimed coverage, and Pharmavite commenced an action for breach of contract and declaratory judgment....more
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has adopted a new, expanded standard for preserving the protections of the attorney work-product doctrine, codified at Pennsylvania Rule of Civil Procedure 4003.3. This decision has implications...more
The 10th edition of The E-Discovery Digest focuses on recent decisions addressing the scope and application of the attorney-client privilege and work-product doctrine, spoliation, and discovery responses....more
In Lassiter v. Hidalgo Medical Services, No. 17-00850 (D. N.M. Apr. 18, 2018), a former employee sought to compel production of outside counsel’s reports and findings of an internal investigation into harassment claims. The...more
Recently, the District of Delaware held that a there was no work-product protection, and no common legal interest protection covering communications and documents shared between a patent owner and a third-party litigation...more
U.S. Magistrate Judge Jonathan Goodman, in the Southern District of Florida, ruled last month that outside counsel’s “oral downloads” of internal investigation findings to the Staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission...more
The advent of large electronic productions has propelled a proposal to adopt new language in the standard confidentiality order used in the Commercial Division. This proposal is designed to protect parties against...more
While courts and the Federal Rules of Evidence take an increasingly pragmatic approach to the question of when inadvertent disclosure of privileged information results in waiver, a recent federal magistrate’s ruling serves as...more
In a case upon which we have reported on January 6, 2016, and November 24, 2015, a New York federal district court held that the work of an audit firm hired to review the billing practices of a third-party administrator...more
This is the third edition of The E-Discovery Digest, a periodic publication on notable decisions relating to key discovery topics. It is designed to keep clients up to date on the evolving state of the law regarding discovery...more
The attorney-client privilege provides absolute but fragile protection. In contrast, work product doctrine protection can be overcome — but offers more robust safety than the privilege. This distinction affects the impact of...more
In This Issue: - Attorney-Client Privilege/Work Product Decisions: ..Decisions Protecting Against Disclosure ..Decisions Ordering Disclosure Other - Spoliation Decisions: ..Spoliation Sanctions...more
Reversing a lower court decision, the D.C. Circuit recently concluded – for a second time – that certain internal audit documents are protected from disclosure by the attorney-client communication and work production...more
The NLRB recently reversed 37 years of precedent in deciding to adopt a new standard for a union’s access to witness statements taken in pre-grievance arbitration employer investigations. For years, under the blanket...more