Changes In Regulations Now Allow Litigation Support Government Contractors To Access Sensitive Information

The government is a frequent litigant as both a plaintiff and defendant on a variety of matters at any given time. Like many other litigants, the government sometimes finds itself needing litigation support. Litigation support contractors fill that need and, because of a new interim rule published February 28, 2014, the Department of Defense ("DoD") is making it easier for such support contractors to have access to "sensitive information"—subject, of course, to certain restrictions and disclosures.

This interim rule expressly authorizes the DoD to provide its litigation support contractors with access to certain types of non-public information, provided that the litigation support contractors are required to protect that information from any unauthorized disclosure, and are prohibited from using that information for any purpose other than providing litigation support services to the DoD.