In all or nearly all litigated cases, lawyers (and sometimes
witnesses) prepare documents during or after witness interviews.
Not surprisingly, courts frequently address the availability of
work product protection for such documents.
In Giraldo v. Drummond Co., Case No. 2:09-CV-01041-RDP,
2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 83415 (N.D. Ala. June 15, 2012), plaintiffs
interviewed several jailed witnesses in Columbia. The court held
that the work product doctrine did not protect one witness's
recitation of "his own recollection in his own words,"
because "[h]e was not filling in the blanks or simply
answering a questionnaire." Id. at *7. In contrast,
the court extended work product protection to draft statements in
which the prisoner appeared to be "answering . . . direct
questions from counsel." Id. at *8-9. Three days
later, the Southern District of Florida similarly held that a
witness interview summary deserved work product protection.
Chase v. Nova Se. Univ., Inc., Case
