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Privilege
The Attorney-Client Privilege Obviously Protects Internal Law Firm Communications, Right?
The attorney-client privilege protects communications primarily motivated by clients' request for legal advice, and lawyers' response. Although old and absolute, the attorney-client privilege undeniably hampers the justice system's search for truth. So the protection is narrow and fragile.
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Florida Federal Court Mentions Two Ways the Work Product Doctrine Differs From the Attorney-Client Privilege
The ancient attorney-client privilege: (1) protects communications primarily motivated by clients' request for legal advice, regardless of any litigation on the horizon; and (2) protects such communications absolutely. The relatively new work product doctrine differs dramatically from the attorney-client privilege in those two ways (among many others).
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Privilege and Work Product Protection for Corporate Investigations After Clark Hill: Part IV
McGuireWoods partner, Thomas Spahn, picks up from his previous three Privilege Point articles that addressed a large law firm's failure to successfully assert privilege or work product protection for its own internal investigation into its own data breach.
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Privilege and Work Product Protection for Corporate Investigations After Clark Hill: Part III
McGuireWoods partner Thomas Spahn's last two Privilege Points addressed privilege and work product protection for corporate investigations. Here he picks up where he left off.
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Privilege and Work Product Protection for Corporate Investigations After Clark Hill: Part II
In his last Privilege Point, McGuireWoods partner, Thomas Spahn, noted a large law firm's failure to protect its own data breach investigation as privileged or as work product. Wengui v. Clark Hill, PLC, --- F.R.D. ---, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5395 (D.D.C. Jan. 12, 2021). Courts assessing such protections normally first examine what initiated the corporate investigation — applying the "primary purpose" tests mentioned last week. Here, he picks up where he let off.
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Privilege and Work Product Protection for Corporate Investigations After Clark Hill: Part I
In this entry of his Privilege Points series, McGuireWoods partner, Thomas Spahn, explores the large Detroit-based law firm of Clark Hill that recently lost its effort to protect as attorney-client privileged and work product doctrine-protected its own investigation into its own data breach.
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The Fascinating Work Product Implications of Surveillance Videos
In his latest privilege point, McGuireWoods partner Thomas Spahn explains how lawyers representing insurance companies and others sometimes seek evidence that plaintiffs claiming injuries, disability, etc., are faking it.
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