Devoted to Corporate Attorneys, Corporate Lawyers, and Corporate Counsel

The following is not meant to be legal advice.

In response to the court’s decision in United States v. Stein, 435 F. Supp. 2d 330 (S.D.N.Y. 2006), Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) introduced the "Attorney Client Privilege Act of 2006 (Act)." The proposed Act would make it illegal for any government attorney or agent to "demand, request, or condition treatment on the disclosure by an organization, or person affiliated with that organization, of any communication protected by the attorney-client privilege or any attorney work product . . . ."

The Act would make it illegal to condition any civil or criminal charging decision as to whether an organization is cooperating with the government on: a valid assertion of the attorney-client or work product privilege; the provision of counsel or the payment of an employee's legal expenses; entering into a joint defense agreement with company employees; sharing of information regarding the government's investigation with company employees; or the failure of an organization to terminate employment or otherwise sanction an employee for invoking any constitutional rights in response to a request from the government.

Senator Specter's bill would apply to all federal agencies, including the SEC and the IRS.

Senator Specter's bill might be of interest to attorneys studying the Thompson Memorandum.