NY Federal Judge Rules PR People are Covered by Attorney-Client Privilege When Working on Legal Cases
From the June 17th Boston Herald:
“[U.S. District Court Judge Lewis A. Kaplan's] decision serves as a green light for lawyers to engage PR consultants to deal with the mass-media frenzy that accompanies some cases, without risk of having to turn over notes from client meetings or testify in front of grand juries about their advice.”
Kaplan also extends the privilege to other people who may be close to the case, but working for the attorney, like paralegals, secretaries, and accountants.
I can imagine that ruling would cover librarians and researchers, also. I’ve often wondered about whether my testimony or research could ever be sought during some kind of legal action. Come to think of it, I’ve provided information to lawyers and some defendents before for legal cases.
A pdf version of the ruling, posted on June 2, is available from the United States District Court Southern District of New York Web site.
