Structuring Joint Defense Agreements in Environmental Litigation

Description

Joint defense agreements can be a valuable tool for counsel representing co-defendants in environmental litigation. Joint defense agreements allow defendants to reduce costs and coordinate strategies, discovery and filings.

However, joint defense agreements are not without risks. Sharing work product and confidential information among defendants—who are frequently also competitors—may expose and lead to future litigation among the co-defendants. Counsel considering entering into joint defense agreements must carefully scrutinize the pros and cons and establish preemptive safeguards to protect their client’s interests and confidential information.

To protect clients and their counsel from potential pitfalls of a joint defense agreement, counsel must carefully craft the agreement. Because joint defense agreements may be discoverable, counsel should avoid including specifics of the joint defense strategy in the agreement and include a provision that the agreement is confidential.

Listen as our authoritative panel of environmental litigators examines key considerations parties and their counsel must evaluate before entering into a joint defense agreement, the key provisions of the agreement, and strategies for meeting the legal ethics requirements related to joint defense agreements.