JAMES C. FRANCIS IV, United States Magistrate Judge.
This criminal proceeding presents, among other issues, the question of whether, and under what circumstances, the attorney-client privilege and work product protection are forfeited
The defendants, Peter Ghavami, Gary Heinz, and Michael Welty, are charged with rigging bids for investment instruments known as guaranteed investment contracts, or "GICs," which are sold by financial institutions to the issuers of municipal bonds. The charges include conspiracy, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371 (Count One of the Superseding Indictment); conspiracy to commit wire fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1349 (Counts Two and Four); and wire fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343 (Counts Three and Five).
The government now moves for an order overruling claims of privilege or work product with respect to 27 consensual recordings so that it may produce unredacted versions of those recordings to its trial team and to the defendants. The government also seeks an order permitting disclosure of previously redacted portions of ten documents memorializing witness interviews. Initially, eight individuals or entities who have asserted the attorney-client privilege or work product protection (the "claimants") opposed the government's applications and sought to "claw back" the communications at issue. One of those entities, Privilege Claimant 7., has entered into a consent order with the government, mooting the government's motion with respect to that claimant.
At a series of hearings on June 4, 2012, I considered the arguments of the government and each of the privilege claimants and issued oral rulings to be followed by a written decision. This is that decision. I will begin by outlining the general principles governing privilege and work product and then will apply those principles to the circumstances of each privilege claimant.
The attorney-client privilege protects from disclosure "(1) a communication between client and counsel that (2) was intended to be and was in fact kept confidential, and (3) was made for the purpose of obtaining or providing legal advice." In re County of Erie, 473 F.3d 413, 419 (2d Cir.2007) (citing United States v. Construction Products Research, Inc., 73 F.3d 464, 473 (2d Cir.1996)); accord United States v. Mejia, 655 F.3d 126, 132 (2d Cir.2011); National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild v. United States Department of Homeland Security, 842 F.Supp.2d 720, 727-28 (S.D.N.Y.2012).
It is well-established that voluntary disclosure of confidential material to a third party generally results in forfeiture of any applicable attorney-client privilege. See Mejia, 655 F.3d at 134; United States v. Jacobs, 117 F.3d 82, 91 (2d Cir.1997); Ravenell v. Avis Budget Group, Inc., No. 08 CV 2113, 2012 WL 1150450, at *2 (E.D.N.Y. April 5, 2012). There are two circumstances, however, where the privilege is preserved notwithstanding such a disclosure. First, disclosure does not create a waiver when the third party is a necessary conduit of information between attorney and client. The Second Circuit has described this principle as follows:
United States v. Adlman, 68 F.3d 1495, 1499 (2d Cir.1995) (alterations in original); see also Urban Box Office Network, Inc. v. Interfase Managers, L.P., No. 01 Civ. 8854, 2006 WL 1004472, at *3 (S.D.N.Y. April 17, 2006) ("[A]n agent, such as a financial advisor, may have communications with an attorney that `are covered by the attorney-client privilege if the financial advisor's role is limited to helping a lawyer give effective advice by explaining financial concepts to the lawyer.'" (quoting Export-Import Bank of the United States v. Asia Pulp & Paper Co., 232 F.R.D. 103, 113 (S.D.N.Y.2005))); People v. Osorio, 75 N.Y.2d 80, 84, 550 N.Y.S.2d 612, 615, 549 N.E.2d 1183 (1989) ("[C]ommunications made to counsel through a hired interpreter, or one serving as an agent of either attorney or client to facilitate communication, generally will be privileged."). In this case, none of the privilege claimants has asserted that communication with a government cooperator was for the purpose of facilitating attorney-client communication, so this exception to forfeiture is inapplicable.
Second, disclosure does not result in forfeiture of the attorney-client privilege when the privilege holder and the third party share a common legal interest. The "common interest" doctrine, sometimes referred to as the "joint defense privilege,"
Sokol v. Wyeth, Inc., No. 07 Civ. 8442, 2008 WL 3166662, at *5 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 4, 2008) (internal quotation marks and citations omitted). The common interest doctrine does not provide an independent source of protection from disclosure and applies only to documents otherwise protected by the attorney-client privilege or work product doctrine. Id.
Denney v. Jenkens & Gilchrist, 362 F.Supp.2d 407, 415 (S.D.N.Y.2004) (internal quotation marks and citations omitted). The party seeking protection of the doctrine must show
Barcomb v. Sabo, No. 07-CV-877, 2009 WL 5214878, at *3 (N.D.N.Y. Dec. 28, 2009) (quoting Denney, 362 F.Supp.2d at 415); see also HSH Nordbank AG New York Branch v. Swerdlow, 259 F.R.D. 64, 72 n. 12 (S.D.N.Y.2009).
Only the party that possesses the privilege may assert or waive it.
Winans v. Starbucks Corp., No. 08 Civ. 3734, 2010 WL 5249100, at *3 (S.D.N.Y. Dec. 15, 2010).
In Upjohn, the Supreme Court found that the corporate privilege extends to communications with employees beyond the "control group" because
449 U.S. at 391, 101 S.Ct. 677.
Within a corporation, then, the attorneyclient privilege protects communications by corporate employees to counsel for the corporation who is acting as a lawyer, as long as the communications are made at the direction of corporate superiors in order to secure legal advice and the employees are aware that they are being questioned
Commodity Futures Trading Commission v. Weintraub, 471 U.S. 343, 348-49, 105 S.Ct. 1986, 85 L.Ed.2d 372 (1985) (footnote omitted); see also Fitzpatrick v. American International Group, Inc., 272 F.R.D. 100, 107 (S.D.N.Y.2010); Denney, 362 F.Supp.2d at 412-15.
The work product doctrine, partially codified by Rule 26(b)(3) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, "is intended to preserve a zone of privacy in which a lawyer can prepare and develop legal theories and strategy `with an eye toward litigation,' free from unnecessary intrusion by his adversaries." United States v. Adlman, 134 F.3d 1194, 1196 (2d Cir.1998) (quoting Hickman v. Taylor, 329 U.S. 495, 510-11, 67 S.Ct. 385, 91 L.Ed. 451 (1947)); see also In re Steinhardt Partners, L.P., 9 F.3d 230, 234 (2d Cir. 1993) ("The logic behind the work product doctrine is that opposing counsel should not enjoy free access to an attorney's thought processes."). To warrant protection, a document or communication must have been prepared in anticipation of litigation by or for a party, or by the party's representative. See Koch v. Greenberg, No. 07 Civ. 9600, 2012 WL 1449186, at *5 (S.D.N.Y. April 13, 2012); Ravenell, 2012 WL 1150450, at *4; Gulf Islands Leasing, Inc. v. Bombardier Capital, Inc., 215 F.R.D. 466, 474 (S.D.N.Y.2003). As explained by the Second Circuit, "documents should be deemed prepared `in anticipation of litigation,' ... if `in light of the nature of the document and the factual situation in the particular case, the document can fairly be said to have been prepared or obtained because of the prospect of litigation.'" Adlman, 134 F.3d at 1202 (emphasis omitted) (quoting 8 Charles Alan Wright, Arthur R. Miller & Richard L. Marcus, Federal Practice and Procedure § 2024, at 343 (1994)). As with the attorney-client privilege, the burden of demonstrating the applicability of the work product doctrine lies with the party seeking its protection. See In re Grand Jury Subpoenas Dated March 19, 2002 and August 2, 2002, 318 F.3d 379, 384 (2d Cir.2003); Koch, 2012 WL 1449186, at *5.
Rule 26(b)(3) provides immunity only for "documents and tangible things" otherwise qualifying as work product. But the work product doctrine, as originally articulated in Hickman v. Taylor, is broader than the Rule. See In re Grand Jury Subpoenas Dated March 19, 2002 and August 2, 2002, 318 F.3d at 383; Cros-by v. City of New York, 269 F.R.D. 267, 277 (S.D.N.Y.2010); Abdell v. City of New York, No. 05 Civ. 8453, 2006 WL 2664313, at *3 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 14, 2006). It also applies to intangible work product: an attorney's analysis made in anticipation of litigation, but which has not been memorialized. Such work product is immune from discovery just as if it had been reduced to writing. See Hickman, 329 U.S.
Indeed, the work product doctrine protects more than the mental impressions and strategies of counsel: "fact work product may encompass factual material, including the result of a factual investigation." In re Grand Jury Subpoena Dated July 6, 2005, 510 F.3d 180, 183 (2d Cir.2007) (citing In re Grand Jury Subpoena Dated Oct. 22, 2001, 282 F.3d 156, 161 (2d Cir.2002)). The difference lies in the degree of the protection afforded. That which reflects the mental processes of an attorney — opinion work product — is entitled to virtually absolute protection. See United States v. Daugerdas, No. 09 Cr. 581, 2012 WL 92293, at *2 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 11, 2012); In re Initial Public Offering Securities Litigation, 249 F.R.D. 457, 460 (S.D.N.Y.2008). Fact or "ordinary" work product, by contrast, may be ordered disclosed upon a showing of substantial need. See Gruss v. Zwirn, 276 F.R.D. 115, 130 (S.D.N.Y.2011); United States v. Sattar, No. 02 Cr. 395, 2003 WL 22137012, at *20 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 15, 2003).
As with the attorney-client privilege, work product protection can be forfeited, but not simply by disclosure to a third person. To constitute a waiver, such disclosure must "`substantially increase[] the opportunities for potential adversaries to obtain the information.'" United States v. Stewart, 287 F.Supp.2d 461, 468 (S.D.N.Y.2003) (quoting 8 Charles Alan Wright, Arthur R. Miller & Richard L. Marcus, Federal Practice & Procedure § 2024 (1994), and citing In re Copper Market Antitrust Litigation, 200 F.R.D. 213, 221 n. 6 (S.D.N.Y.2001), and In re Grand Jury Subpoenas Dated December 18, 1981 and January 4, 1982, 561 F.Supp. 1247, 1257 (E.D.N.Y.1982)). Thus, in Stewart, the court found that disclosure by a criminal defendant of work product to her daughter did not substantially increase the risk that the government would gain access to it. Id. at 469. By comparison, in Medinol, Ltd. v. Boston Scientific Corp., 214 F.R.D. 113, 115-17 (S.D.N.Y.2002), the court held that disclosure to an independent auditor did constitute waiver, in part because the auditor had a public responsibility that transcended its employment relationship to the disclosing party. Id. at 116.
Privilege Claimants 1 and 2 are partners in an investment management company, while Privilege Claimant 3 is the company itself. All three of these claimants assert the attorney-client privilege and work product protection with respect to recordings of conversations with Government Cooperator 1, an employee of a financial institution who had worked with Privilege Claimants 1, 2, and 3 in the GIC market under investigation.
The attorney-client privilege has been forfeited with respect to each of the recordings for which Privilege Claimants 1 and 2 seek protection. Each of these claimants had the capacity to waive privilege with respect to communications with his personal attorney, and each did so by relating those communications to someone outside the attorney-client relationship: Government Cooperator 1. As partners in the company, these claimants were also capable of waiving the privilege on behalf of Privilege Claimant 3, which, again, each did by sharing the communications with a third party.
Work product protection, however, remains intact for the communications at issue. These communications were made in anticipation of litigation. And, while they were revealed to Government Cooperator 1, this did not effect a forfeiture of the protection. Work product protection is waived only if disclosure to a third party substantially increases the risk that it will be obtained by an adversary, in this case the government. This risk must be evaluated from the viewpoint of the party seeking to take advantage of the doctrine. As far as Privilege Claimants 1 and 2 knew, they were disclosing work product not to a government agent, but to a friend who was similarly positioned in relation to the government's investigation and who had seemingly shared his own privileged information with them. To be sure, there is always some danger that the recipient of work product is, or will later become, an informant. But that cannot constitute a "substantial risk" that the work product would be disclosed to the adversary. If it did, the exception would swallow the rule, and the distinction between waiver of the attorney-client privilege and waiver of work product would be rendered a nullity, at least in the criminal context.
As discussed above, the work product doctrine provides only qualified protection. However, to the extent that the recordings at issue here contain factual work product rather than the mental impressions of counsel, the government has not articulated a specific substantial need for disclosure. A showing that information is important to support some specific defense or to undermine a particular aspect of the government's case in a criminal proceeding may well constitute such a substantial need, but a generalized proffer of "relevance" is insufficient.
The recordings sought to be protected only by Privilege Claimant 3 contain conversations between an employee of the company and Government Cooperator 1. The communications contained on these recordings are protected not only by the work product doctrine for the reasons set forth above, but also by the attorney-client privilege, since they recount discussions
The government contends that by redacting any reference to counsel and retaining only the factual material, it could obviate any claim of privilege. For example, according to the government, a communication in the form, "I told the attorney `X'," from which the words "I told the attorney" are redacted would not be entitled to protection as subject to the attorney-client privilege or the work product doctrine. I disagree. One of the purposes of the privilege is to encourage the provision of information to counsel (including counsel for corporate entities) so that the attorney can provide informed advice to the client. Likewise, one of the purposes of the work product doctrine is to protect counsel's efforts in anticipation of litigation, including its fact-gathering, from invasion by an adversary. These purposes would be undermined by the line the government seeks to draw, a distinction unsupported by the cases.
Accordingly, the government's application to overrule claims of attorney-client privilege and work product protection with respect to Privilege Claimants 1, 2, and 3 is denied. In addition, the government shall recover from its trial team and from defense counsel any notes reflecting the privileged information.
Privilege Claimant 4 was an employee of a financial institution. He asserts the attorney-client privilege, the work product doctrine, and the joint defense privilege in connection with conversations recorded by Government Cooperator 2 and Government Cooperator 3.
Government Cooperator 2 was previously an employee of a company that acted as a broker for GICs and which was a subject of the government's investigation. At the time of the recorded conversations, Government Cooperator 2 had left the broker and was working for the same the financial institution as Privilege Claimant 4 and under his supervision. Government Cooperator 3, a longtime personal friend of Privilege Claimant 4, worked at the broker and, like Privilege Claimant 4, was a target of the investigation.
To the extent Privilege Claimant 4 relayed information that his attorney had learned in communications with other persons that were parties to the joint defense agreement, the attorney-client privilege has not been waived. As noted above, while the joint defense or common interest doctrine does not create an independent privilege, it does operate as an exception to what otherwise would be a waiver. Insofar as Privilege Claimant 4 discussed with government cooperators communications that he had with his attorney that did not involve information obtained in the course of the joint defense efforts, the attorney-client privilege is waived by virtue of the disclosures made outside the
Privilege Claimant 5 was an employee of a financial institution. He asserts the attorney-client privilege, work product protection, and the joint defense privilege with respect to one consensual recording
The analysis here parallels that for Privilege Claimant 4. Although Privilege Claimant 5 could waive the attorney-client privilege regarding communications with his own attorney, he could not do so to the extent those communications included what the attorney learned in connection with a joint defense strategy. Moreover, work product protection was not waived by disclosure to Government Cooperator 4. Accordingly, CR-200000-247 remains exempt from disclosure in this case.
Privilege Claimant 6 consists of UBS AG, UBS Financial Services, Inc., and UBS Securities LLC (collectively "UBS").
As previously discussed, a corporate employee without authority cannot effect waiver of a privilege that belongs to the corporation. Nor is the privilege limited to references to counsel; it extends to communications of facts to counsel in connection with the provision of legal advice. Accordingly, the UBS recordings and 302 memoranda are privileged and subject to the work product doctrine.
Nevertheless, the government contends that an otherwise protected portion of the contested e-mail must be disclosed because it constitutes potential impeachment material under Giglio v. United States, 405 U.S. 150, 92 S.Ct. 763, 31 L.Ed.2d 104 (1972). Specifically, the government contends that the e-mail from a government cooperator, who is likely to testify at trial, reveals that he gave false information to counsel during the course of the internal investigation.
The relationship between Giglio and the attorney-client privilege has not been clearly defined. See United States v. De-Fonte, 441 F.3d 92, 94-96 (2d Cir.2006) (remanding case to district court for determination of whether communications sought by criminal defendant under Giglio were privileged); United States v. Dunbar, 590 F.2d 1340, 1343 (5th Cir.1979) (finding it unnecessary to reach issue because further impeachment evidence would have been cumulative). In the circumstances of this case, however, Giglio does not warrant overriding the privilege. Here, the government informant himself breached the privilege by volunteering the substance of what he had told corporate counsel. The government cannot now use that breach to justify making the privileged information public. It can attempt to reach agreement with counsel for UBS to craft a characterization of the privileged communication that would satisfy its Giglio obligations as well as the needs of the defense.
Privilege Claimant 8 is a financial institution. One of its former employees was interviewed by the government during the investigation, and memoranda were prepared summarizing these interviews. That employee has since pled guilty to charges arising out of the GIC investigation and is cooperating with the government. According to Privilege Claimant 8, five of these memoranda contain the employee's recollection of his communications with in-house counsel for Privilege Claimant 8 as to which Privilege Claimant 8 never waived the attorney-client privilege.
For the reasons set forth above, the portions of the recordings and documents at issue all reflect communications that are subject to the attorney-client privilege, the work product doctrine, or both, the protection of which has not been forfeited. Accordingly, the government's motion (Docket no. 84) is denied, and the government shall recover and return those recordings and documents that were previously disseminated beyond its taint team. Notwithstanding this decision, counsel for the privilege claimants and for the government are encouraged to work together to determine the extent to which additional redactions can be made that would satisfy the interests of all parties.
SO ORDERED.
United States v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers of America, AFL-CIO, 119 F.3d 210, 214 (2d Cir.1997) (quotation marks and citation omitted); see also Kingsway Financial Services, Inc. v. Pricewaterhouse-Coopers LLP, No. 03 Civ. 5560, 2007 WL 473726, at *7 (S.D.N.Y. Feb. 14, 2007); In re Rivastigmine Patent Litigation, 237 F.R.D. 69, 73-74 (S.D.N.Y.2006); Bank Brussels Lambert v. Credit Lyonnais (Suisse) S.A., 160 F.R.D. 437, 441 (S.D.N.Y.1995).