Privilege and Ethics Issues in Employment Investigations Conducted by Lawyers

Lawyers are increasingly being asked by employer clients to conduct privileged internal employment investigations. Understanding how the attorney-client privilege may apply to such investigations—or may be waived by the client—is important. Considerations include (1) whether the investigation should be privileged; (2) if privileged, how does the client ensure the privilege is established; (3) maintaining the privilege throughout the investigation; and (4) how the privilege may be waived by the client intentionally or unintentionally.

Investigations also raise ethical issues for lawyers conducting them—regardless of whether the privilege is being applied to the investigation. These include (a) a lawyer's duty of candor; (b) the ability to interview witnesses represented by counsel; (c) truthfulness in the investigation; and (d) possible conflicts of interest that may arise as part of the investigation.

Time:
10:00 - 11:00 a.m. PT
11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. MT
12:00 - 1:00 p.m. CT
1:00 - 2:00 p.m. ET