We want to alert life sciences and health care entities to a recent decision out of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. On March 6, 2014, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia granted a qui tam relator's motion to compel the production of documents relating to the defendant Kellogg Brown & Root Services, Inc.'s (KBR's) "Code of Business Conduct (COBC) investigations," holding such documents were not protected from disclosure under either the attorney-client privilege (ACP) or the attorney work product doctrine (AWP). The court concluded that the company's investigations were conducted pursuant to "regulatory law and corporate policy," rather than for the purpose of obtaining legal advice. Accordingly, KBR was ordered to produce some 89 documents that it previously claimed as privileged under the ACP and/or AWP. U.S. ex rel Barko v. Halliburton Company, No. 1:05-CV-1276 (D.D.C., March 6, 2014). The court's broader statements could have significant implications for companies in regulated industries where corporate compliance programs are commonplace, or even required.… Continue Reading
Addressing an issue of first impression in Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania Superior Court recently concluded that an attorney's communications with a testifying expert are discoverable. This important decision puts Pennsylvania law squarely at odds with the newly amended Federal Rule 26(b)(4), set to take effect December 1, 2010, which prohibits discovery of drafts of an expert's reports as well as communication between counsel and the expert. Now, as much as ever, it is critical to understand the venue-specific rules on communications with experts.… Continue Reading
This post was written by Matthew R. Sheldon and Alexander “Sandy” Y. Thomas. On September 19, 2008, President Bush signed into law the long-awaited Federal Rule of Evidence Rule 502; “Attorney-Client Privilege and Work Product; Limitations on Waiver” (“Rule 502”). Rule 502 addresses waiver of the attorney-client privilege and work product doctrine in the context of … Continue Reading
We previously wrote about how the Department of Justice (DOJ) revised its Principles of Federal Prosecution of Business Organizations, which govern how federal prosecutors investigate, charge, and prosecute corporate crimes, including health care fraud. Reed Smith’s Matthew R. Sheldon, Alexander “Sandy” Y. Thomas, and Richard D. Kelley have written more on the subject.… Continue Reading
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has revised its Principles of Federal Prosecution of Business Organizations, which govern how federal prosecutors investigate, charge, and prosecute corporate crimes, including health care fraud. A number of the revisions address the area of cooperation credit, including providing that credit for cooperation will not depend on a corporation’s waiver of attorney-client … Continue Reading
In-house lawyers in many industries–including life sciences and health care–repeatedly confront hard questions about the attorney-client privilege. As Reed Smith lawyers Matthew Sheldon and Sandy Thomas explain in the PrivilEdge Newsletter, a number of recent developments warrant attention. These include “The Attorney-Client Privilege Protection Act of 2007”–pending legislation that would curb demands for waiver of … Continue Reading
