Protecting The Privacy Of Privileged Internal Investigations

By Donna Fisher, Matthew Hamilton and Katrina Long (August 18, 2017, 12:17 PM EDT) -- Internal investigations by outside counsel are an essential tool for corporations to ensure they are compliant with governing regulations and statutes, particularly when they are faced with allegations of potential wrongdoing. And protecting confidential attorney-client communications and attorney work product is crucial to secure candid participation in the investigation. A federal district court recently held, however, that a corporate defendant waived the privilege as to the subject matter of internal interview memoranda because it later published a report that quoted them. But other courts considering the issue have relied more heavily on considerations of fairness, looking at whether one party is trying to selectively disclose information for strategic advantage. Below, we review recent case law in federal and state courts and offer guidance on measures corporations can take to best safeguard their confidential and privileged internal investigations, including:...

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