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Todd Presnell

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The famous phrase, “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts,” attributed in some form to Aristotle, aptly describes this eye-catching privilege-waiver issue. A court ordered production of a Chief Legal Officer’s privileged emails regarding the plaintiff’s demand letter after the company submitted a blanket, non-specific privilege objection—late—andKeep Reading this POP Post The post “Noxious Combination” Waives Privilege for CLO’s Emails, Court Rules appeared first on Presnell on Privileges.…
Here is an interesting privilege issue for document-intensive cases with multiple and varied privilege calls. We are used to courts deciding privilege disputes on a document-by-document basis, or even a categorical basis. But may a court issue broad privilege-review guidelines to pilot a party’s document review and production? One court—inKeep Reading this POP Post The post Court Issues Privilege-Review Guidelines after Walgreens “Overstepped the Boundaries of Attorney–Client Privilege” appeared first on Presnell on Privileges…
When barreling toward trial, I’m sure a defendant would love to know the factual and legal positions its adversary posited in negotiating a settlement with a co-defendant.  I’m equally sure a plaintiff would want to protect those discussions from the light of day. Well, a defendant tried to pierce theKeep Reading this POP Post The post May a Defendant Discover Plaintiff’s Settlement Communications with the Empty Chair? appeared first on Presnell on Privileges.…
The question can cause even the most confident lawyer to freeze, if only for an instant. Upon returning from horse-shedding consulting with the deponent-employee of your corporate client during a deposition break, the questioning lawyer asks the employee to reveal those consultations. Whether the attorney–client privilege protects deposition-break discussions betweenKeep Reading this POP Post The post Privilege Protects UPS Lawyer’s Deposition-Break Discussion with Corporate Employee, Court Rules appeared first on Presnell on Privileges.…
The privilege-related losses keep piling up for Baylor University in its defense against Title IX claims. Three years after suffering a sweeping attorney-client privilege loss, the federal court ruled that Baylor waived its work-product objections over its outside lawyers’ internal investigation materials. The reason? Baylor could not disentangle its defensesKeep Reading this POP Post The post Major Decision—Court Orders Baylor to Produce Lawyers’ Internal Investigation Work Product appeared first on Presnell on Privileges.…
In what Grub Street dubbed “the most New England crime ever,” a co-owner of a Maine lobster wholesale company allegedly embezzled millions of lobsters by diverting them to his shell company. But when the lobster wholesaler sent its lawyer’s emails to the FBI for its investigation, a court found privilegeKeep Reading this POP Post The post Lobster Wholesaler Sends Lawyer’s Emails to FBI and Waives Privilege in the “Most New England Crime Ever” appeared…
In a wrongful-discharge case involving Brigadier General (ret.) Steven Anderson, the 4th Circuit reversed a district-court decision and upheld an in-house-lawyer-led internal investigation into Anderson’s alleged conflict of interests. The Court upheld the privilege even though the company–employer disclosed certain investigation results to the Dep’t of Defense and the U.S.Keep Reading this POP Post The post 4th Circuit Upholds Privilege for In-House Lawyer-Led Investigation appeared first on Presnell on Privileges.…
Lord Chancellor and noted philosopher Francis Bacon once quipped that “A prudent question is one-half of wisdom.” Today, one might say that a wise lawyer avoids privilege objections by asking prudent questions. Objection: Privileged! We know that federal civil-procedure rules and their state-law equivalents limit lawyers’ opportunities to instruct depositionKeep Reading this POP Post The post One-Half of Wisdom: Circumventing Privilege Objections at Depositions appeared first on Presnell on Privileges.…
With apologies to Tiger King, this has to be the best zoo-related story since Good Night, Gorilla. A former employee at–and now plaintiff against–the Louisville Zoo conspired with a human mole inside the Zoo’s compound to purloin the Zoo’s privileged communications about its litigation strategy. The Zoo rooted-out the moleKeep Reading this POP Post The post You Can’t Make This Up, Folks. A Mole at the Zoo Leads to Privilege Smuggling and Sanctions appeared…
When a company receives a government subpoena, decides to initiate a lawsuit, or reasonably anticipates a claim against it, in-house litigation counsel often leads the evidence-preserving effort. This typically includes disseminating legal-hold notices to employees possessing relevant documents and information. All legal holds contain a preservation instruction but may varyKeep Reading this POP Post The post Privilege and Legal Holds appeared first on Presnell on Privileges.…