Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
On.the.other.hand,.I.read.a.case.where.very.competent.
paralegals. who.had.to.go. through.literal. mountains. of. data.
inadvertently. produced. a. small. number. of. documents. that.
should. have. been. privileged.. When. those. documents. were.
referred.to.by.the.opposing.counsel.in.deposition,.the.attor-
neys.for.the.privileged.party.objected.and.asked.the.court.to.
remove.them.from.evidence.based.on.their.privileged.status..
In.that.case,.the.court.agreed.based.on.the.huge.volume.of.
data.that.the.paralegals.had.been.working.with,.their.general.
competence,.and.the.fact.that.the.information.should.in.fact.
have.been.considered.privileged.
As.usual.this.can.go.both.ways..In.the.end,.it.is.always.a.
matter.of.careful.practice.and.oversight..You.can.assist.with.
this.by.being.very.clear.with.your.attorneys.or.other.profes-
sionals. when. you. think. something. should. be. conidential.
and. ensuring. the. proper. handling. and. documentation. are.
being.maintained.
Another.type.of.communication.that.a.court.will.consider.
unavailable. as. evidence. is. what. is. known. as.
work. product
..
Again.if.we.go.back.to.the.law.dictionary.we.ind.the.deini-
tion.is.as.follows:
n
..the.writings,.notes,.memoranda,.reports.on.conversations.
with.the.client.or.witness,.research.and.conidential.materi-
als. which. an. attorney. has. developed. while. representing. a.
client,. particularly. in. preparation. for. trial.. A. “work. prod-
uct”.may.not.be.demanded.or.subpoenaed.by.the.opposing.
party,.as.are.documents,.letters.by.and.from.third.parties.
and.other.evidence,.since.the.work.product.relects.the.con-
idential.strategy,.tactics.and.theories.to.be.employed.by.the.
attorney..(http://dictionary.law.com
*
)
In. legal. terms. you. will. hear. this. referred. to. as. the. work.
product. doctrine.. This. doctrine. is. basically. the. practice. of.
ensuring. that. any. of. the. work. done. by. an. attorney. or. his.
*.
law.com,.Legal.Terms.and.Deinitions,.“work.product”:.http://dictionary.law.
com/Default.aspx?selected=2261..Retrieved.2011-06-18.
