Privilege
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Privilege
Privilege Issues In High-Profile Corporate Sexual Harassment Case: Part I
The Southern District of New York (Magistrate Judge Gorenstein) issued an extensive privilege decision with several favorable analyses in a high-profile corporate sexual harassment case. In Parneros v. Barnes & Noble, Inc., 332 F.R.D. 482 (S.D.N.Y. 2019), Barnes & Noble’s General Counsel Bradley Feuer investigated alleged sexual harassment misconduct by then CEO Demos Parneros.
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How Can Companies Successfully Assert the "Functional Equivalent" Doctrine?
Starting in 1994, most courts have recognized an enormously important privilege doctrine – treating as if they were full-time corporate employees independent contractors who are the "functional equivalent" of such employees. As companies' outsourcing has dramatically increased since then, this "functional equivalent" doctrine has become a key weapon in corporations' privilege arsenal.
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Does Sharing Work Product With the Government Always Waive That Protection?
Apart from an aberrational case now and then, most courts find that companies disclosing privileged communications to the government waive that fragile protection. But companies do not always waive the more robust work product protection if they disclose work product to the government – if the government acts as an ally rather than as an adversary.
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