Fifty states recognize a medical peer-review privilege that safeguards certain healthcare discussions, promoting candid evaluations post-adverse events. In federal courts, the application of this privilege is complex, often depending on jurisdiction. While some federal courts have explored privileges, most reject a federal common-law peer-review privilege, leaving limited protections under existing statutes.
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Federal banking regulations establish confidentiality for suspicious-activity reports (SARs), which courts have interpreted as creating an evidentiary privilege. The Camenisch v. Umpqua Bank case illustrates how this privilege impacts discovery and trial, especially regarding class-action lawsuits, with a notable increase in SAR filings potentially leading to further litigation complexities.
The post SAR Privilege Restricts Banking…

It’s a conundrum, for sure.  A company receives notice of potential wrongdoing, directs its in-house counsel to investigate the issue, and then must decide how, if at all, to affirmatively use the investigation to defend its conduct.  A significant consideration in determining whether to use investigation results is waiver of
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The court ruled that the attorney-client privilege does not protect a PowerPoint presentation created by in-house counsel for antitrust training, deeming it a general instructional guide on business policies rather than legal advice. The decision emphasized the lack of particularized legal inquiries, leading to the order for production of the presentation.
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Learn how to succeed, and fail, when addressing whether investigations are privileged.
The post Investigations of Employee Harassment Complaints—Are They Privileged? appeared first on Presnell on Privileges.

The broad concept of at-issue privilege waiver is best illustrated by the advice-of-counsel waiver doctrine which, as its moniker signals, arises when a party claims that he relied on his lawyer’s advice before engaging in certain conduct.  The doctrine invokes the sword-and-shield imagery by precluding a party from using privileged
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Sandlot baseball stars like me know that “a tie goes to the runner.”  It’s an unwritten rule, for sure, and some say a myth. In baseball, this rule provides that, in a close play, most often at first base, if the runner and the baseball reach the base simultaneously, then
The post A Tie Goes…