North Carolina Lawyers Weekly

Apr 19, 2016

Attorneys – Attorney-Client Privilege – Client’s Agent – Domestic Relations – Wife’s Friend – Work Product Protection

Berens v. Berens (Lawyers Weekly No. 011-135-16, 20 pp.) (Lucy Inman, J.) Appealed from Mecklenburg County District Court (David Strickland, J.) N.C. App. Holding: During a contentious divorce, a non-practicing […]

Apr 5, 2016

4th Circuit weighs exceptions to attorney-client privilege

High-powered attorneys from white-shoe law firms in New York and Washington, D.C., were not enough to convince the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that a trial judge abused his […]

Mar 30, 2016

Attorneys – Attorney-Client Privilege – Crime-Fraud Exception – Securities Trading

Under Seal 1 v. United States (In re Grand Jury Subpoena) (Lawyers Weekly No. 006-001-16, 12 pp.) (James Wynn Jr., J.) Appealed from W.D.N.C. (Max Cogburn Jr., J.) 4th Cir. […]

Sep 11, 2014

Attorneys – Attorney-Client Privilege – Waiver – Burden of Proof

Safety Test & Equipment Co. v. American Safety Utility Corp. (Lawyers Weekly No. 14-15-0872, 7 pp.) (James Gale, J.) 2014 NCBC 40 Holding: The court adopts a burden-shifting analysis for […]

May 2, 2014

Attorneys – Civil Practice – Discovery – Attorney-Client Privilege – Client’s Belief

Walter v. Freeway Foods, Inc. (Lawyers Weekly No. 14-05-0389, 6 pp.) (Catharine Aron, J.) 10-02057; M.B.N.C. Holding: Where the debtor-“client” reasonably believed that Jonathan Waller was an attorney and that […]

May 3, 2013

No blanket attorney-client privilege for Outer Banks lawyer

A Kill Devil Hills attorney will have to answer questions about his conversations with a client who is now in bankruptcy proceedings. James R. Gilreath Jr. had argued that the conversations were protected by a blanket attorney-client privilege, but a federal bankruptcy court ordered Gilreath to sit for a deposition by the bankruptcy trustee, with privilege disputes resolved on a question-by-questi[...]

Aug 2, 2012

Civil Practice – Discovery – Attorney-Client Privilege – Email Production – Outside Consultant

Blythe v. Bell In response to an order compelling discovery, defendants (1) hired an outside consultant, (2) instructed him to search company computers using search terms suggested by plaintiffs and to segregate files with the extension “hickorylaw.com,” (3) failed to review the documents produced by the consultant, and (4) produced to plaintiffs a hard drive with 3.5 million unsearch[...]

Oct 14, 2011

Attorneys – Attorney-Client Privilege – Work Product – Waiver – Advice of Counsel Defense – Corporate Sale – Disparate Shareholder Prices

Richardson v. Frontier Spinning Mills By raising the advice-of-counsel defense as to disparate share pricing, material disclosures in a stock purchase agreement, and otherwise, defendants waived attorney-client and work-product privileges as to (1) the mechanics of and manner in which the stock sale was structured; (2) the manner in which information concerning the sale was disclosed to o[...]

Sep 9, 2011

Civil Practice – Discovery – Document Production – Form & Organization – Attorney-Client Privilege

Morris v. Scenera Research, LLC Even though – before this case was remanded from federal court to state court – the parties agreed as to the form and organization of the production of documents in discovery, defendant’s actual production has left plaintiff unable to determine the source of many of the documents produced. Defendant is directed to provide a report to the court as t[...]

Sep 8, 2011

Civil Practice – Discovery – Attorney-Client Privilege – Blanket Objection – First Impression – Appeals – Interlocutory

K2 Asia Ventures v. Trota When responding to a discovery request, a blanket objection based on attorney-client privilege or work product immunity to all of the opposing parties’ discovery requests is inadequate to accomplish its intended purpose and does not establish a substantial right to an immediate appeal. The Philippine defendants’ appeal is dismissed. The trial court’s ord[...]

Sep 1, 2011

Civil Practice – Discovery – Document Production – Form & Organization – Attorney-Client Privilege

Morris v. Scenera Research, LLC Even though - before this case was remanded from federal court to state court - the parties agreed as to the form and organization of the production of documents in discovery, defendant’s actual production has left plaintiff unable to determine the source of many of the documents produced. Defendant is directed to provide a report to the court as to wh[...]