Why The "Stock" Decision Is Wrong — And Why It Is Right

Like so many New York lawyers, I was happy when the First Department decided Stock v. Schnader Harrison, Segal & Lewis, LLP, 35 N.Y.S.3d 31 (1st Dept. 2016 (Stock). Indeed, I was probably happier: The First Department's decision, which applied the attorney-client privilege to cover all communications between a law firm's in-house counsel and firm attorneys, made my job as firm General Counsel a great deal easier. I had also written an article in this publication last November criticizing the trial court's ruling in Stock — a ruling the First Department overturned — and pointing out how out-of-step the court had been with recent rulings in other states that had upheld the law firm in-house privilege. See R. Minkoff, "Law Firm In-House Privilege Revisited," New York Legal Ethics Reporter (Feb. 2015), citing St. Simons Waterfront, LLC v. Hunter, Maclean, Exley & Dunn, P.C., 293 Ga. 419 (2013) (St. Simons) and RFF Family Partnership, L.P. v. Burns & Levinson, LLP, 465