By Daniel Wenner, Day Pitney LLP (January 3, 2017, 1:22 PM EST) -- Let's begin with a hypothetical: Suppose that Michael Rand is a certified public accountant and the controller and chief accounting officer of Beazer Homes USA, a publicly traded company. Assume that during a routine audit, Beazer's auditors discover some accounting irregularities that raise alarm bells. Beazer brings in a law firm to do an internal investigation and discovers that Rand had engaged in questionable accounting practices to meet earnings targets. It fires Rand and alerts the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The SEC issues subpoenas, conducts interviews and concludes that, in its view, Rand engaged in securities fraud. It sues him. In defending the suit, Rand issues Beazer a subpoena under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 45, seeking all documents relating to the accounting in question. Beazer produces those documents in response to the subpoena, and Rand uses those documents at trial to show that he did not, in fact, engage in securities fraud. Maybe he wins, maybe he loses, but he has access to documents he wants to use in his defense....