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their.mistake.and.sent.a.request.to.the.counsel.for.Williams,.
the. plaintiff,. asking. for. the. e-mail. to. be. returned.. However,.
they.never.received.a.response.and.they.either.forgot.about.the.
matter.or.failed.to.follow.up..Two.years.later,.the.e-mail.showed.
up.as.evidence.in.the.case.and.they.asked.the.court.to.exclude.
it.because.it.was.privileged.and.pointed.to.their.earlier.request.
The.judge.ruled.against.them.saying.that.the.rule.of.evi-
dence. clearly. “requires. a. party. who. has. inadvertently. pro-
duced. a. privileged. document. to. '
promptly
'. take. reasonable.
steps.to.rectify.the.error”
*
.(emphasis.added)..The.judge.in.this.
case.did.not.feel.that.waiting.two.years.to.deal.with.the.inad-
vertent.production.of.electronic.evidence.could.be.construed.
as.prompt.and.reasonable.steps.
This.is.very.important.to.understand.as.you.are.assisting.
with.your.legal.team's.production.of.data..First,.it.is.impor-
tant.to.carefully.review.what.is.being.produced.to.ensure.it.
is. not. privileged. or. part. of. the. work. product,. and. second,.
it. is. equally. important. to. encourage. and. support. a. prompt.
response.if.you.ind.that.mistakes.were.made,.as.they.often.
are..Especially.when.dealing.with.the.large.volumes.of.data.
inherent. in. electronic. evidence. discovery,. it. is. very. easy. to.
make. mistakes.. The. courts. will. forgive. those. mistakes. and.
work.with.you.if.you.follow.the.rules,.but.as.noted.here.they.
can.also.work.against.you.if.you.fail.to.do.so.
1.2.3.12. .Paciic.Coast.Steel,.Inc..v..Leany.
(D. Nev..9/30/11)—Losing.Privilege
Yet.another.important.and.recent.case.shows.us.how.easy.it.
can.be.to.lose.the.right.to.claim.attorney-client.privilege.by.
virtue. of. unwise. actions.. The. defendant. Leany. worked. for.
Paciic.Coast.Steel.and.then.went.to.work.in.another.orga-
nization..Paciic.brought.a.case.against.him.for.his.taking.of.
intellectual.property.belonging.to.them.to.his.new.employers.
*.
www.ediscoverylaw.com/uploads/…/Westlaw_Document_Williams.doc,.pg.1..
Retrieved.2012-03-09.
