Presentation at 2013 Taxpayers Against Fraud Education Fund conference

1. The Ethics of
Acquiring Documents
Before Litigation
Kathleen Clark
Washington University in St Louis
kathleen_clark@mac.com
TAF Conference
2013

2. Intersection
of
Legal Ethics
&
Law of Whistleblowing

3. Documents:
Purloined?
Privileged?

4. by David J. Marshall and Abigail Cook-Mack

6. Are
confidentiality
agreements
enforceable?

7. US ex rel Grandeau
v
Cancer Treatment
Centers of America
N.D. Ill. 2004

8. confidentiality agreement
cannot trump
the FCA’s strong policy
of protecting whistleblowers
who report fraud against the
government

9. US ex rel Head
v
Kane Co
D.D.C. 2009

10. SEC
Dodd-Frank
Whistleblower
regulation

11. Can’t impede
individual from
communicating with
SEC by enforcing a
confidentiality
agreement

16. US ex rel Cafasso
v
General Dynamics
th
9
Cir 2011

17. wholesale
copying of
files
admittedly containing
confidential, proprietary &
trade secret information

18. What
can
whistleblower
lawyers
do
?

19. Tell client:
“Don’t
provide
privileged
documents”

20. Delegate
to client
privilege
review

21. Lawyer
herself
reviews

22. Other
lawyer
in
firm
reviews

23. Paralegal
in
firm
reviews

24. LPO
reviews

25. Predictive
Coding

26. Ad hoc

27. After review:
segregate
&
return
privileged
documents

28. 5 cases
Lawyer As Relator

29. US ex rel Doe v X Corp
ED VA 1994
Vermont Agency Natl Res v US ex rel Stevens
SCt 2000
Bury v Community Hospital
Ca5thApp 2002
US ex rel Repko v Guthrie Clinic
MD PA 2008, 2011
US ex rel Fair Laboratory Practice Assoc v Quest
2nd Cir 2013

30. US ex rel Doe v X Corp
ED VA 1994
Vermont Agency Natl Res v US ex rel Stevens
Attorneys
“should be encouraged”
to use qui tam law suits
to expose fraud
MD PA 2008, 2011
US ex rel Fair Laboratory Practice Assoc v
Quest
SDNY 2011

31. $
incentives
>
confidentiality
based on
contract

32. $
incentives
?
>
confidentiality
based on
professional rules

33. $
incentives
confidentiality
<
based on
professional rules

34. US ex rel
Fair Laboratory Practice
Associates
v
Quest
2nd Cir
October 25, 2013

35. The Ethics of
Acquiring Documents
Before Litigation
Kathleen Clark
Washington University in St Louis
kathleen_clark@mac.com
TAF Conference
2013