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On January 23, 2023, after hearing an extensive oral argument, the Supreme Court dismissed In re Grand Jury, 23 F.4th1088 (9th Cir. 2021), cert granted, 143 S. Ct. 80 (2022), a highly anticipated case about how the attorney-client privilege applies to "multipurpose" communications. Absent clear direction form the Supreme Court, lawyers and their clients should continue to look to the relevant state and federal authority to apply the attorney-client privilege to multipurpose communications. As covered in our client [...]

On January 9, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in In re Grand Jury. In this case, the Court is asked to decide the appropriate test for determining whether documents that include legal advice, but also discuss other non-privileged issues, are protected by the attorney-client privilege. The question before the Court is whether a "dual purpose" communication is privileged only if its "primary purpose" was obtaining legal advice, or if the privilege extends to [...]

Justice William Bedsworth's recent column, "Oral Argument: Better Than Oral Surgery," packs a lot of meanings into the title's last four words. (See The Recorder, 12/19/2022.) I suppose it might depend on viewpoint, you know, surgeon or patient, the condition in question, the complexity of the problem, and how direct the approach. I'm not speaking of dentistry here. Getting counsel to answer questions can be like pulling teeth. I was reminded of that yesterday while [...]