July 21, 2009, Washington, DC.

Michael Geske, COO of Aphelion Legal Solutions, has prepared a white paper addressing recent developments to the rules governing the attorney-client privilege and work product. Mr. Geske's paper focuses specifically on the impact of the 2006 amendments to Rule 26 and subsequent case law addressing electronically stored information ("ESI"). Attempts to address the expansion of ESI have altered the scope of the attorney-client privilege and work product doctrine as applied to pretrial discovery matters. Two changes have narrowed the scope of those protections compared to the breadth with which they were asserted when discovery was dominated by hard copy productions. The other change provides litigants additional means by which they can attempt to protect their privilege claims while maintaining some limit on the costs of ESI discovery. By understanding the extent of these changes, practitioners can anticipate their impact on clients, advise them appropriately, and maximize the chances that important communications remain confidential and protected from discovery.

Mr. Geske's white paper is available here.