Podcast: Are Legal Holds Protected by Privilege? Insights from the FTC's Battle with Amazon
False Claims Act Insights - Is DOJ Allowed to Share Privileged Documents with Whistleblowers in FCA Disputes?
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
White-collar crimes present investigators with intricate challenges that require precision, expertise, and advanced technology. In today’s high-profile investigations, the stakes couldn’t be higher, with reputations,...more
The decision in Cook v. Meta Platforms, Inc., 2024 WL 251942 (N.D. Cal. Jan. 21, 2025), packs a lot into very few pages. In two instances, where Meta had offered a compromise solution, the court held Meta to that offer....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
Despite the dominance of Windows computers in corporate environments, an increasing number of companies are now integrating Apple Mac computers into their networks. Alongside this shift, the rise of BYOD (Bring Your Own...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
The attorney-client privilege originated in Roman law, and flourished under what John Adams labeled "that most excellent monument of human art, the common of law of England." But in America, some states articulate their key...more
In 1985, the Third Circuit protected as opinion work product a lawyer's "selection and compilation of [intrinsically unprotected] documents . . . in preparation for pretrial discovery." Sporck v. Peil, 759 F.2d 312, 316 (3d...more
Companies in or anticipating litigation normally impose litigation holds. If litigation ensues, does the attorney-client privilege or the work product doctrine protect the content of such a hold or the fact of its imposition?...more
The Supreme Court recently granted certiorari in In re Grand Jury to resolve a circuit split regarding what standard governs the application of the attorney-client privilege to dual-purpose communications, that is...more
Delaware’s Chancery Court recently blocked two former directors from obtaining privileged communications between a corporation and its counsel in the context of the former directors’ pursuit of personal claims against the...more
Understandably based on fairness notions, the subject matter waiver doctrine prevents litigants from explicitly or impliedly using privileged communications as a "sword" while simultaneously asserting the privilege as a...more
A party may waive privilege not just by making positive assertions about its privileged communications but also negative assertions (ie what was not said in privileged communications). For there to be a waiver, the party has...more
The processes of discovery and litigation preparation present unique challenges for organizations involved in complex litigation. Whether it’s a class action lawsuit, multidistrict litigation, or a mass tort, these...more
Ruling on a motion seeking the return of inadvertently produced privilege materials, Judge Kaplan elaborated on the meaning of “inadvertent” in the context of Massachusetts Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(5) and so-called...more
Parties with matters taking place in England and Wales need to be aware of a new disclosure pilot scheme that has become mandatory, with some exceptions, in English and Welsh business and property courts. These courts cover...more