New PA Superior Court Decision Indicates Extra Precautions Needed by Attorneys to Protect Work Product of Third Party Consultants
On August 15, 2018 by Schnader in Internal investigationsBrandy Ringer and Laurel Gift published “New PA Superior Court Decision Indicates Extra Precautions Needed by Attorneys to Protect Work Product of Third Party Consultants.” The client alert says that in light of the McIlmaildecision, “there are steps that attorneys can take to better preserve privilege and the work product of third party consultants.”
“Attorneys engaged to conduct internal investigations are often sought and retained in order to allow a sensitive inquiry to unfold under the cloak of protection available through the attorney-client relationship. Businesses, municipalities, and public entities need to be able to uncover potential misconduct or scandal and receive legal advice relating to those issues without fear that their concerns will be made public, resulting in reputational harm and other negative consequences. A recent Pennsylvania Superior Court decision, McIlmail v. Archdiocese of Philadelphia, __ A.3d __, 2018 WL 2731404 (Pa. Super. June 7, 2018), calls into question the scope of protections afforded to attorneys and their third-party consultants hired to conduct or assist in these sensitive investigations.”