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Privilege
Non-Lawyer Corporate Employees Can Claim Privilege Protection for Investigation-Related Communications
Outside and in-house lawyers may of course normally claim privilege protection for their investigation-related communications, as long as they were primarily motivated by the need for legal advice. Depending on the anticipation of litigation element, they may also claim work product protection for those communications. But what if non-lawyer corporate employees conduct an investigation?
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Privilege
When Do Courts Conduct an In Camera Review of Withheld Documents?
Given the bare bones nature of many privilege logs, courts sometimes may be called upon, or themselves decide, to review withheld documents in camera to assess the grounds for the documents’ withholding.
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The Surprising Danger of Including a Spouse on Email Communications
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 mind.
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Courts Thankfully Back Away From a Broad “At Issue” Waiver Approach
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 to privileged communications.
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Courts Assess Waiver Implications of Lawyers Testifying: Part II
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.
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Courts Assess Waiver Implications of Lawyers Testifying: Part I
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.”
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Can the Privilege Protect Communications With a Lawyer Not Licensed in That State?
Under every state’s ethics rules, lawyers not licensed there may temporarily provide legal advice under certain conditions, but normally may not establish a “systematic and continuous” presence there without violating criminal statutes.
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