Law Commons^™

Corporate Cooperation In Criminal Investigations: Waiving Privileges Without Coercion, Emily S. Keller

Golden Gate University Law Review

Part I of this comment explains the attorney-client privilege and the waiver doctrine and demonstrates the important role the privilege plays in our legal system. It shows why, according to the DOJ charging policy, waiver of the privilege is often needed during corporate investigations. It also addresses how the charging policy erodes the privilege in the corporate context, thereby creating governance problems for corporations. Part II provides legal definitions and standards for coerced waivers to show that the choice corporations must make between waiving the privilege or increasing their risk of indictment does not meet any legal test for coercion. …

Voluntary Client Testimony As A Privilege Waiver: Is Ohio's Law Caught In A Time Warp?, David B. Alden, Matthew P. Silversten

David B. Alden

Ohio’s attorney-client privilege statute, Ohio Rev. Code § 2317.02(A), has been interpreted to provide for a broad waiver of the attorney-client privilege whenever the client testifies voluntarily, including when the client’s testimony does not disclose the substance of the otherwise privileged communications. Finding a privilege waiver under these circumstances is virtually unique to Ohio. This article (1) traces the origins of this rule back to Ohio’s first code of civil procedure, which was enacted in 1853, (2) identifies the long-forgotten reasons that prompted its adoption; (3) analyzes decisions that have applied it from the mid-nineteenth century through today; (4) assesses …

At Issue Waiver Of The Attorney-Client Privilege In Illinois: An Exception In Need Of A Standard, Kevin Bennardo

Northern Illinois University Law Review

This essay analyzes the "at issue" exception to the attorney-client privilege and suggests the adoption of a specified standardized test for finding the exception in Illinois. In general terms, at issue waiver of the attorney-client privilege occurs when a party pleads a claim or defense that places at issue the subject matter of privileged material over which she has control. Throughout the years, United States jurisdictions have employed four approaches for testing the application of the at issue exception, although recently the focus has been on two primary tests (the Hearn test and the anticipatory waiver test). Illinois courts have …

Comparing Exceptions To Privilege And Confidentiality Relating To Crime, Fraud, And Harm -- Can Hard Cases Make Good Law?, Jean Fleming Powers

Jean F. Powers

The article begins by describing some scenarios – the hard cases – that illustrate the tension between the lawyer’s obligation to his client and what many would view as basic standards of decency and humanity. The cases include (1) the recent case of an innocent man who spent 26 years in jail for a crime he did not commit while the attorneys for the real perpetrator protected the information that their own client had committed the crime, (2) cases involving the extent of the exception to confidentiality to prevent death or substantial bodily harm, (3) a case in which attorneys …

The Future Of Inadvertent Disclosure: The Lingering Need To Revise Professional Conduct Rules, Paula Schaefer

Scholarly Works

In recent years, the American Bar Association and state bars have deferred to lawmakers to create a legal solution to the problems associated with inadvertent disclosure. When Federal Rule of Evidence 502 was enacted in September 2008, lawmakers and commentators praised the new rule as a remedy to costly pre-production privilege review and as an answer to the uncertainties of waiver law.

This article examines the numerous inadvertent disclosure issues that remain unanswered for litigators and transactional attorneys, and considers the new problems created by Federal Rule of Evidence 502. In 2009, transactional attorneys have no practical means to obtain …

Upjohn Warnings, The Attorney-Client Privilege, And Principles Of Lawyer Ethics: Achieving Harmony, Grace M. Giesel

Grace M. Giesel

Individuals who are related to an entity such as a corporation sometimes claim that when they communicated with the entity lawyer, they honestly and reasonably believed that the lawyer represented them. Thus, they claim that the attorney-client privilege applies and protects their statements from disclosure even when the entity has waived its privilege with regard to the communications. Many courts have given privilege claims by entity individuals harsh treatment. These courts, in the interest of protecting the entity, have required individuals to make proofs beyond that required by the traditional definition of the attorney-client privilege. In addition, these courts have …