Guarding Privileged Materials: How State Law Offers More Protection
You likely know that California and federal law on the attorney-client privilege and work product protection diverge. You may even be vaguely aware that California law on privilege is generally more protective than federal law. But did you know that the differences are so marked that entire categories of documents are privileged under California law but not under federal law? Some of the ways that California law is more protective than federal law include (1) the scope of the attorney-client privilege and the attorney work product protection are broader under California law; (2) the means of making and resolving challenges to claims of attorney-client privilege are more favorable to privilege claimants in state court; and (3) when privilege has been waived through voluntary disclosure, the extent of the waiver is narrower under California law.
Read the full article in the ABTL Report, Vol. 20, No. 3, Summer 2011.
