Insurance Companies and the Attorney-Client Privilege in Arizona
A recent Sixth Circuit decision, In re: FirstEnergy Corp., provides essential guidance on protecting privileged materials and work product for companies conducting internal investigations in response to regulatory or...more
We’re thankful for a never-ending supply of eDiscovery case law! In our November 2025 monthly webinar of cases covered by the eDiscovery Today blog, we will discuss disputes related to production of contemporaneous...more
Upjohn v. United States, 449 U.S. 383 (1981), articulated the widely accepted standard for privilege protection in the corporate setting. But some litigants who rely on that famous case’s statement that the privilege extends...more
On October 3, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit reaffirmed that the attorney-client privilege and work-product protections cover documents and communications concerning corporate internal...more
Many lawyers don’t appreciate — and some don’t even recognize — the attorney-client privilege’s astounding fragility. Once they understand it, they should warn their clients not to share privileged communications with any...more
On October 3, 2025, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued a decision granting FirstEnergy Corporation’s (“FirstEnergy”) petition for a writ of mandamus and vacating a district court order compelling...more
Most privilege and work product waivers involve the intentional or accidental disclosure of protected communications to third parties. But under an “at issue” waiver, a litigant can forfeit both protections without disclosing...more
In the 1993 film The Firm, attorney Mitchell McDeere (played by Tom Cruise) must confront Joey Morolto (played by Paul Sorvino), the head of the Morolto crime family and a top client of Bendini, Lambert & Locke, the law firm...more
Attorney-client privilege is one of the most important protections in the legal system. Its powerful legal protection allows clients to speak freely and candidly with their attorneys without fear that their communications...more
On July 25, 2025, Superior Court Business Litigation Session Judge Debra A. Squires-Lee issued a significant decision regarding the attorney-client privilege and clarifying the contours of the work product doctrine in...more
Expect fireworks with this month’s eDiscovery case law disputes! In our July 2025 monthly webinar of cases covered by the eDiscovery Today blog we will discuss disputes related to improper boilerplate objections,...more
Unlike the fragile attorney-client privilege that can be waived even upon disclosure to family members, the work product doctrine is much more robust. A recurring corporate scenario confirms this important distinction....more
Internal human resources investigations often generate numerous privilege and waiver issues. One recent case assessed a common scenario — raising a scary possibility, but then coming to the right conclusion....more
Last week’s Privilege Point described S.D.N.Y. Judge Lewis Liman’s conclusion that a company waived privilege protection for legal advice it received from its counsel by disclosing the advice to its financial advisor China...more
Companies that retain financial advisors to assist in transactions necessarily share intimate confidential corporate information with them. But can they safely share legal advice with such advisors without risking a privilege...more
The common interest doctrine can sometimes protect as privileged communications between separately represented clients. But litigants seeking the doctrine’s protection face many hurdles and often fail....more
The differing waiver rules governing the fragile attorney-client privilege and the robust work product doctrine protection predictably create stark differences when family members communicate with each other. This type of...more
One thing leaders of organizations routinely recognize is that “you never know what tomorrow will bring.” Another common slogan is “life happens.” If “life” happens to bring the organization a situation that could expose the...more
Although lawyers understandably focus mostly on the privilege that they enjoy when communicating with their clients, other professionals (psychiatrists, clergy) also have privilege protection of one degree or another. Does...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
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
Starting about 50 years ago in the case of Hearn v. Rhay, 68 F.R.D. 574 (E.D. Wash. 1975), some courts recognized a broad “at issue” waiver that could strip away privilege without the holder’s disclosure of or even reference...more
Last week’s Privilege Point described a Nevada federal court ruling that a lawyer’s testimony about non-privileged matters did not waive that fragile protection. Snow Covered Capital, LLC v. v. Fonfa, Case No....more
For obvious reasons, lawyers rarely testify at trial. The ethics rules normally prevent a lawyer from trying a case if she is “likely to be a necessary witness.” ABA Model Rule 3.7. And any lawyer’s testimony presents...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: In its seminal decision, Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia, the Supreme Court held that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity is tantamount to discrimination on the basis of...more