Two Federal Courts Assess A Prospective Client's Privilege Protection On The Same Day

Communications between a lawyer and a prospective client can involve ethics (confidentiality and conflicts) issues, as well as privilege protection issues. Not surprisingly, the availability of privilege protection depends on the context.

InGlover v. EQT Corp., Civ. A. No. 5:19CV223, 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 147435, at *18 (N.D. W. Va. Aug. 14, 2023), the court held that a would-be client "appear[ed] to be actively seeking representation regarding a perceived royalty dispute with" defendant, followed by the would-be lawyer's "requesting additional information and attempting to coordinate meetings to discuss representation." The court understandably extended privilege protection, although the client did not ultimately retain that lawyer. On the same day, another federal court addressed privilege protection for the EEOC's four thousand solicitation letters sent to current and former employees of a company accused of failing to provide reasonable accommodations under