So you're sitting next to one of your client's senior
executives. You're at a large table in a larger conference
room. There's a lawyer for every seat at the table. There's
a court reporter in the room. A videographer too. The lawyer across
the table from you slides a document to your client and gives you a
copy. And then she starts asking questions. You look at the
document. It dawns on you. This is a privileged document. It's
an email attaching a power point that was used in a presentation by
your client's legal department to its employees. The videotape
is rolling. The court reporter is typing. Uh-oh. Bad thing.
What to do? Well, whatever you do, don't panic. It's not
over. You probably have a chance to fix this, to claw it back. And,
if you do it right—which in part involves speaking
up—and you've done the preparation, the court will likely
back you.
