A federal magistrate judge in Florida recently ordered that witness interview memoranda from an internal investigation be produced to third parties in related civil litigation, finding that attorneys had waived attorney work product protection when they disclosed the contents of the memoranda to the Government. While this was a single magistrate judge’s opinion, it has the potential to impact standard practices for witness interviews and cooperation in government investigations in the event other courts reach similar conclusions. Regardless of its wider adoption, this opinion should remind companies and their counsel of the care needed when conducting internal investigations, memorializing interviews, and making oral or written disclosures to the Government.
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Federal Court Orders Production of Internal Investigation Memoranda to Third Parties Following Oral Disclosure to Government
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