On Monday, the Supreme Court dismissed the writ of certiorari as improvidently granted in In re Grand Jury, a case that had potentially significant consequences for federal common law attorney-client privilege. Oral argument in the case was heard on January 9, 2023. The case hinged on which test should be used to determine whether
Most lawyers have a general understanding of the “no-contact rule” — namely that under state versions of Model Rule 4.2, with a few exceptions, you can’t communicate directly on the subject of the representation with someone you know is represented by counsel. But where does in-house counsel fit in? Is in-house counsel “fair game”
Have you recently made a career move — maybe going in-house? Or shifting from a firm to government work? When you’re dealing with a work-life change, watch out for details that can too-easily fall through the cracks — like your license to practice, the date it expires, and whether you are in line to get
In-house attorneys face unique situations when it comes to client relationships and job responsibilities. But when it comes to ethical obligations, the Model Rules don’t recognize any difference between lawyers who work in-house and others. Model Rule 1.0(c) defines “law firm” to include lawyers employed “in the legal department of” an organization, and it has
If you’re corporate counsel to an organization, you know how hard it can be to navigate privilege issues. In a single day, you can be involved in talking to business managers, communicating with your CEO and dealing with the board. When are your communications privileged, and how can you protect them? A recent Colorado district
Do you toil in the pressure cooker of a firm, but dream of going in-house? Many lawyers have that goal. But the churn works in the other direction, too, with in-house lawyers migrating to firms or solo practice. When they do, they can face conflict of interest issues leading to disqualification, as a former in-house
Here’s a year-end reminder to in-house counsel: make sure that you are properly registered and licensed, or you may run into disciplinary problems. An Ohio lawyer who worked in a company’s law department learned that the hard way earlier this month, when she received a two-year suspension from the Ohio Supreme Court, with six
Hot on the heels of the publicity for Brian Cuban’s new book, “The Addicted Lawyer: Tales of the Bar, Booze, Blow and Redemption,” comes the searing account in the New York Times of the 2015 death of a former IP partner at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, who secretly battled drug addiction and reportedly
The former general counsel for clothing retail giant Zara USA, Inc. can’t claim privilege in his discrimination-wrongful discharge suit for e-mails he created on a company-issued computer, said New York’s First Department court of appeals in an opinion last month — but the same material might be protected by the work-product doctrine, the court held.
* Our guest blogger is a Certified Compliance & Ethics Professional (CCEP)® in Thompson Hine’s Dayton, Ohio office.
A growing list of businesses are eager to promote a strong culture of ethical corporate compliance, and lawyers should be ready to get on board by developing knowledge and skills to address this need.
Companies devoting resources