What is covered under the work product doctrine?
Attorney work product privilege permits attorneys to withhold from production documents and other tangible things prepared in anticipation of litigation by or for another party or its representative.
What US Supreme Court case established the work product doctrine What type of work does the work product doctrine protect?
Hickman v. Taylor
The work-product privilege or doctrine1 originated in the seminal case of Hickman v. Taylor, 329 U.S. 495, 67 S. Ct. 385 (1947, in which the U.S. Supreme Court held that statements of witnesses obtained by an attorney prior to trial were privileged and thus protected from discovery.
What is the difference between attorney client privilege and work product?
According to the Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, the “attorney-client privilege refers to a legal privilege that works to keep confidential communications between an attorney and his or her client secret.” On the other hand, the Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute proclaims “the work product …
What distinguishes the two kinds of work product?
Work product is divided into two categories: ordinary and opinion. Ordinary work product is the result of gathering basic facts or conducting interviews with witnesses, and is discoverable if there is a showing of substantial need, like a witness that becomes unavailable.
What documents are protected by the work product doctrine?
Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, L.L.P. The work-product doctrine generally protects from discovery by an adverse party any materials prepared by or for a party, including by in-house counsel, in “anticipation of litigation.”
Are depositions work product?
Most courts extend work product protection to “intangible” work product such as oral communications, deposition testimony, etc. Those courts either ignore the Rule’s limited language, or rely on a shadowy common law work product protection based on Hickman v. Taylor, 329 U.S. 495 (1947).
What is the meaning of work product?
Legal Definition of work product : the set of materials (as notes), mental impressions, conclusions, opinions, or legal theories developed by or for an attorney in anticipation of litigation or for trial.
Is the work product doctrine part of the attorney-client privilege?
The attorney-client privilege protects from disclosure to third parties confidential attorney-client communications that relate to legal advice. The work product doctrine protects from disclosure to third parties documents and tangible things that a party or its representative prepares in anticipation of litigation.
Is work product intellectual property?
Work product is anything you produce specifically for the client. Your intellectual property remains yours to use on other projects as long as you protect it in the contract as preexisting work, or define it as something you can use going forward after the client engagement.
Are notes discoverable?
The court held that these notes, largely because they contained thoughts and impressions of an attorney, cannot be discoverable: In performing his various duties, however, it is essential that a lawyer work with a certain degree of privacy, free from unnecessary intrusion by opposing parties and their counsel.
Can you waive work product privilege?
An adversary may also obtain an attorney’s work product if the “privilege” is waived. A party can waive the privilege, however, by disclosing it to an adversary directly or if the disclosure substantially increases the chances that the work product will get into the hands of an adversary.
Is the work product doctrine a privilege?
Under California’s civil attorney work product statute, a “writing that reflects an attorney’s impressions, conclusions, opinions, or legal research or theories is not discoverable under any circumstances,” (Cal. Code Civ. Pro. Section 2018.030(a)), and is thus absolutely privileged.
What is the significance of Hickman v Taylor?
The unanimous decision in Hickman v. Taylor is a landmark decision in recognizing the “work product” doctrine. The privilege protects an attorneys notes and thought processes made in anticipation of litigation. The “work product” doctrine was later codified in Rule 26 (b) (3) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
What is the work product doctrine?
Accordingly, the Court recognized the “work product” doctrine, which protects such information from being discovered absent some special showing of need by opposing counsel. Hickman v. Taylor Case Brief In 1943, the tugboat “J.M. Taylor” was involved in an accident and sank, taking the lives of five of the nine people on board.
Does the attorney-client privilege apply to the work product doctrine?
The attorney-client privilege is not relevant here because the material is not a communication between the attorney and the client. However, it implicates the work product doctrine because it concerns the work that the attorney performed on the client’s behalf, in which the attorney has a privacy interest.
What is a work product of a lawyer?
This work is reflected, of course, in interviews, statements, memoranda, correspondence, briefs, mental impressions, personal beliefs, and countless other tangible and intangible ways — aptly though roughly termed by the Circuit Court of Appeals in this case as the “work product of the lawyer.”