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Privilege
What Standard Applies to Courts’ Review of Special Masters’ Privilege Calls
In some cases involving voluminous or complicated privilege issues, courts rely on special masters to make the privilege calls.
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Seeking Attorney’s Fees Triggers Work Product Waiver Issues: Part II
Last week’s Privilege Point described two cases finding that successful plaintiffs had waived work product protection covering their invoices and other attorney’s fees billing documents because they sought attorney’s fees as an element of damages.
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Seeking Attorneys’ Fees Triggers Work Product Waiver Issues: Part I
Under what is called the American Rule, winning litigants normally pay their own attorneys’ fees. But in some situations, they can seek recovery of those fees from the losing adversary.
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The Consequences of a Bad or Tardy Privilege Log
Every court seems to require litigants to log documents they withhold based on privilege or work product claims. Perhaps not surprisingly, hardly any log goes unchallenged by the adversary.
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How Do You Distinguish Between Lobbying Advice and Legal Advice?
Lawyers frequently act as lobbyists.
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Courts Deal With a Review of Privilege Rulings
In federal courts, it is nearly impossible to successfully file an interlocutory appeal of a trial court’s order requiring production of privileged documents — despite the obvious “cat out of the bag” nature of such rulings.
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Court Takes Expansive View of an Implied Waiver: Part II
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 a key document’s meaning.
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