{"id":903446,"date":"2024-10-16T15:44:51","date_gmt":"2024-10-16T21:44:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/?p=903446"},"modified":"2024-10-16T15:44:54","modified_gmt":"2024-10-16T21:44:54","slug":"attorney-client-privilege-copying-in-house-counsel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/attorney-client-privilege-copying-in-house-counsel\/","title":{"rendered":"Merely Copying In-House Counsel Does Not Necessarily Establish Attorney-Client Privilege"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Jim Archibald | BuildSmart<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Businesses who employ in-house attorneys frequently assume that copying their lawyer on internal communications shields the communications from discovery because of the attorney-client privilege<\/a>.\u00a0 In 1981, the U.S. Supreme Court articulated the rule that the attorney-client privilege protects communications (a) between attorneys and clients (b) that are maintained in confidence and (c) that were made for the purpose of obtaining or providing legal advice (see\u00a0Upjohn Co. v. United States<\/em>, 449 U.S. 383, 389 (1981)). The\u00a0Upjohn<\/em>\u00a0court made it clear that the privilege applies not only to the lawyer\u2019s communications that convey legal advice, but also to the client\u2019s \u201cgiving of information to the lawyer to enable [the lawyer] to give sound and informed advice.\u201d Based on this rule, confidential communications between a lawyer and client may NOT be protected by the attorney-client privilege if the communication is NOT made for the purpose of obtaining or providing legal advice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A recent order from the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington at Seattle illustrates this point and underscores the limits of the attorney-client privilege in protecting communications between in-house counsel and business people about matters that go beyond legal advice. In Garner v. Amazon.com<\/em>, 2:21-cv-00750-RSL (W.D. Wash. Sept. 23, 2024), a class action alleging that Amazon recorded private conversations through Alexa devices without consent, Amazon attempted to \u201cclaw back\u201d over 1,000 documents that it claimed were protected by the attorney-client privilege and inadvertently produced.  In response to Amazon\u2019s claw back, the plaintiffs requested an in camera<\/em> hearing with the court to review the documents. Following the hearing, the court ordered Amazon to produce all or significant portions of approximately 80% of the documents it attempted to claw back. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In determining where the attorney-client privilege applies, the court distinguished \u201coperational advice\u201d from \u201clegal advice\u201d as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u2026a document whose overwhelming purpose is to seek operational, business, or strategic advice from non-legal professionals (or to summarize operational, business, or strategic issues facing the corporation) cannot be shielded from discovery simply by sharing it with an attorney with an open-ended invitation to chime in if he or she saw anything of interest. To hold otherwise would effectively cloak with the privilege any operational document shared with an attorney.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Based on this analysis, adding a lawyer to an internal email communication about business, operational or strategic issues would not establish attorney-client privilege protection, even if the lawyer is invited to comment with his or her advice. Indeed, the court explained \u201cif the withheld document was reviewed, edited, or commented on by an attorney but reveals only business advice or publicly available information, the privilege does not apply.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The court allowed Amazon to redact portions of documents where in-house counsel was in fact providing legal advice. According to the court, \u201c[r]edactions will be permitted, but they must be limited to text that reveals the nature of a request for legal advice or the advice provided.\u201d To support such a redaction, the court advised Amazon that it must \u201cmake a clear showing that a primary purpose of the communication was to request or provide legal advice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While this case involves a consumer protection class action complaint, the analysis behind the rulings could apply just as well to owners, contractors and engineers involved on a construction project. Consider these two statements that might be made in an email communication to the estimating team by a general contractor\u2019s in-house attorney: (1) \u201cunder applicable law, a no damage for delay clause is enforceable, with only limited exceptions\u201d; (2) \u201cbecause the contract contains a no damage for delay clause, we should add extra contingency to our bid.\u201d The Garner<\/em> court likely would find that the first statement is protected by the attorney-client privilege, but the second statement is a much closer call. It is possible that the court might conclude that the second statement offers \u201cbusiness\u201d or \u201coperational\u201d advice that is discoverable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Similarly, lawyers should choose their words carefully. The preface to a piece of advice might color a court\u2019s decision about whether the advice is privileged. For example, if the advice follows a statement like \u201cthis advice is based on my legal review of the contract,\u201d a court may be more inclined to find that the attorney-client privilege applies. On the other hand, the same advice might be viewed as \u201cbusiness\u201d or \u201coperational\u201d advice if the in-house lawyer couches the advice as \u201cthe best way to cut our losses\u201d or \u201cthe best strategy to exert our leverage during the negotiations.\u201d To be clear, widespread labeling of documents as \u201cprivileged and confidential\u201d likely does not help establish attorney-client privilege. Indeed, the Garner<\/em> court called out Amazon for seemingly having \u201ca policy of marking documents as \u2018privileged and confidential\u2019 because they touch on sensitive subjects, such as consumer privacy, not because they request or reflect legal advice.\u201d  Nonetheless, subtle choices about how to present advice to a client might be instrumental in establishing that the advice is protected \u201clegal\u201d advice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the\u00a0Garner<\/em>\u00a0court\u2019s narrow view of the attorney-client privilege may differ from the broad protection that many non-lawyer clients expect whenever they \u201ccopy their lawyer\u201d on their internal communications, the\u00a0Garner<\/em>\u00a0decision reflects the kinds of rulings that judges often make following\u00a0in camera<\/em>\u00a0reviews of allegedly privileged documents. Clients almost always believe that the attorney-client privilege is much broader than it really is, and it is important for lawyers to remind their clients regularly that adding the lawyer as a \u201ccc\u201d does not automatically protect their communications from discovery. Likewise, lawyers should be intentional about recognizing when they are providing \u201clegal\u201d advice and when they are providing \u201cbusiness\u201d advice, and any \u201cbusiness\u201d advice should be offered with the expectation that it might be discoverable. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

When one of your cases is in need of a construction expert, estimates, insurance appraisal or umpire services in defect or insurance disputes – please call Advise & Consult, Inc. at 888.684.8305, or email experts@adviseandconsult.net<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jim Archibald | BuildSmart Businesses who employ in-house attorneys frequently assume that copying their lawyer on internal communications shields the communications from discovery because of the attorney-client privilege.\u00a0 In 1981, the U.S. Supreme Court articulated the rule that the attorney-client privilege protects communications (a) between attorneys and clients (b) that are maintained in confidence and… Continue reading Merely Copying In-House Counsel Does Not Necessarily Establish Attorney-Client Privilege<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[172],"tags":[9895,9122,27],"class_list":["post-903446","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-construction-law-2","tag-advise-consult","tag-attorney-client-privilege","tag-construction-law","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nMerely Copying In-House Counsel Does Not Necessarily Establish Attorney-Client Privilege - Advise & Consult, Inc.<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"copying their lawyer on internal communications shields the communications from discovery because of the attorney-client privilege\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/attorney-client-privilege-copying-in-house-counsel\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Merely Copying In-House Counsel Does Not Necessarily Establish Attorney-Client Privilege - Advise & Consult, Inc.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"copying their lawyer on internal communications shields the communications from discovery because of the attorney-client privilege\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/attorney-client-privilege-copying-in-house-counsel\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Advise & Consult, Inc.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Advise-Consult-Inc-126949043996790\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-10-16T21:44:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-10-16T21:44:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@adviseconsult\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@adviseconsult\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/attorney-client-privilege-copying-in-house-counsel\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/attorney-client-privilege-copying-in-house-counsel\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0a11abe008083d5fb19c2b0feefe7bd7\"},\"headline\":\"Merely Copying In-House Counsel Does Not Necessarily Establish Attorney-Client Privilege\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-10-16T21:44:51+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-10-16T21:44:54+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/attorney-client-privilege-copying-in-house-counsel\/\"},\"wordCount\":1010,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"Advise & Consult\",\"Attorney-Client Privilege\",\"construction law\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Construction Law\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/attorney-client-privilege-copying-in-house-counsel\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/attorney-client-privilege-copying-in-house-counsel\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/attorney-client-privilege-copying-in-house-counsel\/\",\"name\":\"Merely Copying In-House Counsel Does Not Necessarily Establish Attorney-Client Privilege - Advise & Consult, Inc.\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2024-10-16T21:44:51+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-10-16T21:44:54+00:00\",\"description\":\"copying their lawyer on internal communications shields the communications from discovery because of the attorney-client privilege\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/attorney-client-privilege-copying-in-house-counsel\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Advise & Consult, Inc.\",\"description\":\"Construction Expert Witnesses\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Advise & Consult\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/AC-Red-Logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/AC-Red-Logo.png\",\"width\":162,\"height\":75,\"caption\":\"Advise & Consult\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Advise-Consult-Inc-126949043996790\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/adviseconsult\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company-beta\/204526\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/MrConstructionExpert\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0a11abe008083d5fb19c2b0feefe7bd7\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b01e71b7acadd7657af782b7ad1a30cc?s=96&d=mm&r=pg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b01e71b7acadd7657af782b7ad1a30cc?s=96&d=mm&r=pg\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.expertwitnessinconstruction.com\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Merely Copying In-House Counsel Does Not Necessarily Establish Attorney-Client Privilege - Advise & Consult, Inc.","description":"copying their lawyer on internal communications shields the communications from discovery because of the attorney-client privilege","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/attorney-client-privilege-copying-in-house-counsel\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Merely Copying In-House Counsel Does Not Necessarily Establish Attorney-Client Privilege - Advise & Consult, Inc.","og_description":"copying their lawyer on internal communications shields the communications from discovery because of the attorney-client privilege","og_url":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/attorney-client-privilege-copying-in-house-counsel\/","og_site_name":"Advise & Consult, Inc.","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Advise-Consult-Inc-126949043996790\/","article_published_time":"2024-10-16T21:44:51+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-10-16T21:44:54+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@adviseconsult","twitter_site":"@adviseconsult","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/attorney-client-privilege-copying-in-house-counsel\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/attorney-client-privilege-copying-in-house-counsel\/"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0a11abe008083d5fb19c2b0feefe7bd7"},"headline":"Merely Copying In-House Counsel Does Not Necessarily Establish Attorney-Client Privilege","datePublished":"2024-10-16T21:44:51+00:00","dateModified":"2024-10-16T21:44:54+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/attorney-client-privilege-copying-in-house-counsel\/"},"wordCount":1010,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#organization"},"keywords":["Advise & Consult","Attorney-Client Privilege","construction law"],"articleSection":["Construction Law"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/attorney-client-privilege-copying-in-house-counsel\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/attorney-client-privilege-copying-in-house-counsel\/","url":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/attorney-client-privilege-copying-in-house-counsel\/","name":"Merely Copying In-House Counsel Does Not Necessarily Establish Attorney-Client Privilege - Advise & Consult, Inc.","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2024-10-16T21:44:51+00:00","dateModified":"2024-10-16T21:44:54+00:00","description":"copying their lawyer on internal communications shields the communications from discovery because of the attorney-client privilege","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/attorney-client-privilege-copying-in-house-counsel\/"]}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/","name":"Advise & Consult, Inc.","description":"Construction Expert Witnesses","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Advise & Consult","url":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/AC-Red-Logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/AC-Red-Logo.png","width":162,"height":75,"caption":"Advise & Consult"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Advise-Consult-Inc-126949043996790\/","https:\/\/x.com\/adviseconsult","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company-beta\/204526\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/MrConstructionExpert"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0a11abe008083d5fb19c2b0feefe7bd7","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b01e71b7acadd7657af782b7ad1a30cc?s=96&d=mm&r=pg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b01e71b7acadd7657af782b7ad1a30cc?s=96&d=mm&r=pg","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/www.expertwitnessinconstruction.com"]}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2ztG6-3N1I","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/903446","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=903446"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/903446\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":903448,"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/903446\/revisions\/903448"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=903446"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=903446"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=903446"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}