Client Caution: Settlement Discussions and Documents May Not Be Protected from Future Discovery

May 25, 2006

When a company engages in settlement discussions with the federal government or a civil plaintiff in one case, can those communications be the subject of discovery in a different lawsuit? The DC Circuit recently held that the existence of a federal settlement privilege is an "open question" in federal courts.  Gibson Dunn partner David Battaglia and associate Julian Poon are co-authors of "Willing to Settle? Think Twice," [PDF] an article recently published by The National Law Journal which provides an in-depth analysis of these issues. 


Reprinted with permission from the May 15 issue of The National Law Journal, © 2006 ALM Properties, Inc..