Internal Investigations: Protecting Attorney-Client Privilege Against Increasing Attacks

In recent years, companies have encountered an increased need to conduct internal investigations to address allegations in many areas, including harassment and other employment concerns; government fraud and False Claims Act issues; breaches of codes of ethics; and violations of state and federal laws in regulated industries. But as demonstrated in the Manafort charges, protecting attorney-client privilege has become more perilous and prone to attack. Before conducting an investigation, in-house counsel should understand what is not protected, and how to most effectively protect confidentiality and privilege during all stages of an internal investigation. During this discussion, we will address:

• Defining the attorney-client privilege in internal investigations
• Effective use of joint defense agreements
• Establishing privilege over discussions with former employees
• The growing use of the crime-fraud exception and claims of waiver by the government
• How the use of non-lawyer consultants can affect privilege
• Practical considerations, including insurance coverage for investigations

Tuesday, March 27, 2018
1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. EST

Speakers: Jonathan S. Feld, Member, Chicago; Jason M. Ross, Senior Counsel, Dallas; John F. Rhoades, Associate, Chicago

Click here to register

CLE accreditation for Ethics/Professional Responsibility is anticipated for California, Illinois and Texas. We provide Uniform Certificates of Attendance and jurisdiction-specific information for those licensed in other jurisdictions. HRCI eligibility will be determined after the live webcast. If HRCI accredited, we provide Certificates of Attendance to all attendees. Please contact Sarah Minjoe at sminjoe@dykema.com with questions.