The Trial Lawyer’s Guide to the Attorney-Client Privilege and Work-Product Doctrine

Reagan W. Simpson is a partner in the Houston, Texas, law firm of Yetter Coleman LLP, a litigation boutique. After graduating from the University of Texas with a bachelor’s degree and from the University of Texas School of Law, he served as a law clerk to the late Thomas Gibbs Gee, Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Reagan has spent the past 45 years trying cases to juries and appealing cases tried to juries. He is an Advocate in the American Board of Trial Advocates and a Member of the American Law Institute. He is certified in Civil Appellate and Civil Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Reagan is a Fellow of both the American College of Trial Lawyers and the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers.

Table of Contents:








The Attorney-Client Privilege
The Ethics Rule on Confidentiality and How it Differs from the Attorney-Client Privilege
The Work-Product Privilege
The Common-Interest or Joint-Defense Privilege
Exceptions to Privileges
Waiver of Privileges
Procedural Tools for Litigating Privileges
The Attorney-Client Privilege in Organizations
Investigations
Patent Matters
Litigating Attorney-Client Privileges Under the United States Bankruptcy Code and the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure
Communications with Public Relations Consultants
Insurance Settings
Class Actions
Choice of Law Issues