#Privileges

Kirk Hartley

May 15, 2013
1 min

Ponzi Scheme Lawyers Losing Privilege ?

How far does privilege go when lawyers apparently have knowledge of a Ponzi scheme? Perhaps not far enough to block a duty to speak, according to an appellate court in Canada, and a McCarthy Tretualt article. The fact pattern is unusual because the suit at issue is against a law firm that represented both the Ponzi scheme defendants and an investor in a company that was part of a scheme. The investor client sought securities advice related to the businesses in the alleged Pon

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Kirk Hartley

Jun 12, 2012
1 min

Can Big Tobacco Hide behind a Claim of Parliamentary Privilege

The idea is to me hard to grasp, but the Canadian tobacco trial today focused much time on the tobacco companies claiming "parliamentary privilege " for all thing said to parliament in hearings. For specifics, see this post from Eye on the Trials, and this "parliamentary privilege" resource page linked by the post. The trial judge has not yet ruled. #Privileges

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Kirk Hartley

May 4, 2012
2 min

Selective Waiver of Privilege Rejected Again

The 9th Circuit recently joined the group of federal circuit courts rejecting selective waiver of privilege. The opinion is analyzed in depth by Paul Hastings. Key excerpts are: "On April 17, 2012, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued its decision in In re Pacific Pictures Corp., No. 11-71844, ___ F.3d ___, 2012 WL 1293534 (9th Cir. Apr. 17, 2012), holding that a party waives attorney-client privilege in any future litigation by voluntarily disclosi

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Kirk Hartley

Aug 24, 2011
1 min

Illinois Court Rejects Claim of Medical Act Privilege for Statistical Data on Infection Rates

Here’s a summary of an interesting Illinois opinion in Zangara v. Advocate Christ Medical Center . Nos. 1–09–1911, 1–09–1914 (June 10, 2011). The opinion rejects a claim of medical act privilege for statistical data on hospital infection rates. The opinion is to me interesting because data often matters more than opinions (or spin) about the data. #Privileges

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Kirk Hartley

Jun 9, 2011
1 min

Public Entity Waiver (or Not) of Privilege After Announcing the Outcome of a Post-Incident Investiga

For better or worse, opinions from lawyers are now tightly woven into management of government agencies and private businesses. Indeed, opinions of lawyers are frequently cited to justify dubious behavior. For a recent, famous example, consider the massive AIG bonuses paid on the rational that non-payment might cause breach of contract claims. That pathetic explanation was nicely skewered in this New York Times opinion article by Lawrence A. Cunningham, a law professor at G

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Kirk Hartley

Sep 15, 2010
1 min

European Court of Justice Rejects Attorney-Client Privilege Claim for Inside Counsel

The Akzo Nobel ruling is out from the European Court of Justice, and rejects the attorney-client privilege claim for activities of inside counsel as related to claims regarding unfair competition. The opinion is here. Go here for a Law.com article with predictable quotes from corporate counsel upset about losing secrecy. The quotes from corporate groups emphasize that the ruling arises in the context of a competition case. That’s true, but the rationale and language of the

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Kirk Hartley

Nov 19, 2009
2 min

State Secrets Privilege – Should The Alleged Victim Be Compensated When the Government Chooses

Here is an interesting NLJ article on the state secrets privilege from a law professor and dean with an impressive background in both public interest litigation and academics. The law professor, Alan B. Morrison, currently is the Lerner Family Associate Dean for Public Interest and Public Service Law at the George Washington University School of Law. In short, he suggests that the price for exercising the privilege should be that the government pays for the harm cause

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Kirk Hartley

Sep 24, 2009
2 min

United States to Limit Use of the State Secrets Privilege for Civil Litigation ?

This September 23 NYT article by Charlie Savage describes Obama administration plans to deploy rules that limit the use of the state secrets privilege to block civil litigation. The article also briefly discusses legislative efforts to limit invocation of the privilege. The existing use of privilege has significantly limited past lawsuits. For an example, see this prior post from this blog regarding civil claims against Saudi entities regarding the September 11 attacks. Make

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