Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
consultants. or. agents
*
. is. protected. from. discovery. in. a.
court.case.
This.can.be.hugely.important.for.an.attorney.or.anyone.
working. for. an. attorney. to. understand. because,. again,. this.
protection.can.be.lost.by.mismanagement.of.the.information.
For.instance,.if.you.are.consulting.as.a.forensics.examiner.
with.an.attorney,.all.of.the.reports.and.indings,.even.includ-
ing.the.“mental.impressions,.conclusions,.opinions,.or.legal.
theories.of.a.party's.attorney.or.other.representative.concern-
ing.the.litigation”
†
.(as.speciically.stated.in.the.Federal.Rules.
of.Civil.Procedure),.are.considered.work.product..Therefore.
they.are.not.producible.as.evidence.in.court..That.makes.it.
extremely. important. that. you. as. an. examiner. or. agent. for.
the. attorney. take. the. necessary. precautions. to. protect. that.
information. and. not. inadvertently. deliver. it. to. the. court. or.
opposing.counsel.
A.big.caveat.for.anyone.working.in.this.capacity.is.to.under-
stand.that.unless.you.are.working.as.the.attorney's.agent,.this.
work.product.doctrine.will.not.apply..In.other.words,.if.you.
are.hired.by.the.actual.plaintiff.or.defendant.your.work.is.not.
protected.and.could.be.discoverable.for.a.court.case.
It.is.also.quite.often.the.case.that.experts.or.consultants.
are.hired.by.the.courts.as.third-party.neutrals.or.special.mas-
ters.. In. that. case. he. or. she. is. working. for. the. courts,. and.
all. evidence,. including. reports,. indings,. and. opinions,. can.
be.considered.relevant.evidence.to.be.admitted.for.the.case..
This.can.be.advantageous.to.the.inding.of.fact.by.virtue.of.
the.objectivity.of.the.expert.who.was.not.hired.by.either.side.
in.a.dispute.
Next.we.need.to.consider.the.issues.around.information.
that.might.be.conidential.or.sensitive.
*.
Forensic. Focus:. Articles/Papers,. barristerharri,. Is. Your. Client. an. Attorney?.
Be.Aware.of.Possible.Constraints.on.Your.Investigation.(Part.1.of.a.Multi-part.
Series),.September.24,.2011:.http://articles.forensicfocus.com/2011/09/24/
is-your-client-an-attorney-be-aware-of-possible-constraints-on-your-investiga-
tion-part-1-of-a-multi-part-series/..Retrieved.2011-06-18.
†.
Fed..R..Civ..P..26.(b)(3)(B)..Retrieved.2011-06-18.
