By Nicholas Goldin and Yafit Cohn (June 26, 2017, 4:50 PM EDT) -- When a company faces litigation involving the subject matter of an earlier internal investigation, the question often arises as to whether the investigative material created by or at the direction of counsel is protected from discovery under the attorney-client privilege or the attorney work-product doctrine. A recent decision from the United States District Court for the District of Columbia serves as a cautionary reminder of two important points: (a) the work-product doctrine does not cover the fruits of an investigation that was conducted for a business purpose and not in anticipation of litigation, even when litigation involving the same subject matter of the investigation later develops; and (b) voluntary public disclosure of an investigative report may cause a subject matter waiver of the attorney-client privilege with respect to underlying investigative interview memoranda, at least where the public investigative report affirmatively cites the interview memoranda. Perhaps most significantly, the decision, Banneker Ventures LLC v. Graham, (D.D.C. May 16, 2017), underscores the close analysis that should accompany a decision to publicly disclose even a summary of an internal investigation that was conducted under the attorney-client privilege....