Preserving Attorney-Client and Work Product Privileges in Class Action Litigation

Description

Class action litigation raises unique issues concerning the attorney-client privilege and work product doctrine. The involvement of multiple parties and multiple stages of litigation creates unique legal and ethical considerations, including whether pre-certification communications between plaintiffs' counsel and putative class members are privileged.

Frequently, class litigation over defective consumer products proceeds simultaneously with regulatory investigations by the FDA, FTC or Consumer Product Safety Commission, which can create additional attorney-client privilege and work product problems. Courts have ruled more often than not that the disclosure of information to regulators during investigations waives the attorney-client privilege in class litigation.

Counsel representing parties in a class action suit must be mindful of the impact of a parallel regulatory investigation on the class action case, especially with regard to attorney-client and work product privilege protections.

Listen as our authoritative panel of class litigators examines the attorney-client and work product privileges in the context of class action litigation, including when the privilege attaches, how it can be waived, and how to avoid waiver and shield information. The panel will discuss their insights and best practices to preserve the privilege, including a discussion of protecting documents disclosed to the government during parallel regulatory investigations.