Another Reminder To Approach Dissemination Of Internal Investigation Materials With Caution

Companies internally investigating potential false claims issues recently received another reminder of the care that must be taken to maintain attorney-client privilege over internal investigation files and reports. In particular, companies must be very cautious with internal dissemination of any internal investigation files and reports. On June 25, in the midst of June 26 trial, a federal judge in the Eastern District of Texas ordered the production of a report from Kellogg Brown & Root, Inc.'s (KBR) internal investigation regarding alleged kickbacks, finding that attorney-client privilege had been waived. While the precise grounds for waiver have not been spelled out in an order as of the publication of this post, one notable waiver argument raised in the parties' briefing was that the report was transmitted internally from a KBR supervisor to a KBR employee.