Law360 drew upon one of the nation’s leading authorities on legal ethics and attorney-client privilege, McGuireWoods partner Tom Spahn, to tee up an Aug. 27 story about how courts applied the “common interest” doctrine in recent cases in different jurisdictions.
The doctrine is an exception to the rule that disclosure of protected material to a third party waives attorney-client privilege and is recognized in some version in nearly every jurisdiction.
In the article, “The Rules of Sharing: 4 Common Interest Rulings To Know,” Spahn cautioned that “there are a lot of factors in play, and the fact is some courts apply it in a way that doesn’t make a lot of sense.” He added, “The best thing a lawyer can do is know how their court views it before they try to invoke it.”