All Things Investigations: Episode 37 – Privileges in Document Production with Mike Huneke
Law School Toolbox Podcast Episode 395: Listen and Learn -- Evidence: Special Privileges
Why Your Data is Key to Reducing Risk and Increasing Efficiency During Investigations and Litigation
Bar Exam Toolbox Podcast Episode 210: Listen and Learn -- Evidence: Special Privileges
What Lawyers Need to Know About Cybersecurity | Dennis Van Metre | Texas Appellate Law Podcast
Lawyers frequently represent multiple clients on the same matter. Absent some contractual arrangements to the contrary, those lawyers must share all confidential information with all the jointly represented clients and, of...more
In Abrego-Garcia v. Noem, __ F.R.D. ___, 2025 WL 1166402 (D. Md. Apr. 22, 2025)(Xinis, J.), plaintiffs notified the Court of “seemingly intractable discovery disputes….” The case is before the District Court after the United...more
Because litigants frequently take an aggressive approach when withholding documents on privilege grounds, courts’ in camera reviews often result in a loss for them. But sometimes courts agree with a litigant’s privilege...more
In the aftermath of the soap opera-like ethical scandal over an undisclosed romantic relationship between a Jackson Walker partner and a Texas bankruptcy judge, an Oregon federal court dealt with discovery of a renowned...more
Having taught Federal Rule of Evidence 502 (FRE 502) in my law classes for over a decade, I felt I had a firm grasp of its nuances. Yet recent litigation where I serve as Special Master prompted me to revisit the rule with...more
Unlike the absolute attorney-client privilege (and the absolute or nearly absolute opinion work product doctrine protection), a litigant can overcome the adversary’s fact work product protection if it “shows that it has...more
Several courts have adopted a nonsensical principle that, as one court put it, “[w]hen documents are prepared for dissemination to third parties, neither the document itself, nor preliminary drafts, are entitled to immunity.”...more
Numerous Privilege Points have described cases concluding that advertising agencies are outside privilege protection but inside work product protection (although they normally cannot themselves create protected work product)....more
In complex litigation, understanding when a document is protected by attorney-client privilege can be challenging, especially when privilege issues arise in multidistrict litigation (MDL) like the In re Uber Technologies,...more
In Stuart v. County of Riverside, 2024 WL 3086634, at *3 (C.D. Cal. Jun. 14, 2024), the District Court found a relationship between work product designations and triggering of the common-law duty to preserve....more
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
I have never heard of a “destruction/unavailable” log; however, in the comprehensive – indeed, exhaustive – decision of Leprino Foods Co. v. Avani Outpatient Surgical Center, Inc., 2024 WL 4488711 (C.D. Ca. Sep. 30, 2024),...more
Corporate litigants’ privilege logs often trigger privilege disputes about internal corporate communications not involving a lawyer — because the log does not mention a lawyers’ participation. But there are at least two...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
Most lawyers know that state statutes or common law doctrines often protect communications between spouses – although there is wide variation in such approaches. But there is a lurking danger that all of us should keep in...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
In Linet Americas, Inc. v. Hill-Rom Holdings, Inc., 2024 WL 3425795 (N.D. Ill. Jul. 15, 2024), the court held that “attachments to attorney client communications may be withheld as privileged without an independent basis for...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
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 November of 2022, ChatGPT upended our thinking about artificial intelligence with a new form of machine learning called Generative AI (GenAI). Since then, discussions about GenAI models like GPT have taken center stage in...more
Last week’s Privilege Point described an opinion requiring a corporate party’s witness to disclose communications with his Latham & Watkins lawyers, because he confirmed with that firm his own “commercial understanding” about...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
In both the federal and state judicial systems, judges assess privilege and work product protection claims — sometimes coordinating with judges at other levels. But there is a lurking unspoken risk that some lawyers may...more
[Editor’s Note: This article was first published May 15, 2024 and EDRM is grateful to Tom Paskowitz and Robert Keeling of our Trusted Partner, Sidley, for permission to republish. The opinions and positions are those of the...more
3: Preparing Your Inside Team - Preservation, Privilege, Potential Pitfalls -This is the third in a series of articles that explores considerations and suggested actions for in-house counsel who are inexperienced in patent...more