On Demand
Audio
Ethics Meets Strategy: Understanding Common Interest and Joint Defense Agreements
Produced on October 30, 2017
Course Information
Course Description
In both civil and criminal litigation, there are often multiple parties that have a strong common interest. These can be defendants, third-parties, or plaintiffs. In such situations it is often advantageous to develop a joint strategy that benefits these parties.
However, there are pitfalls to this approach. For instance, if the parties do not enter into an information sharing agreement, then a court might find the communications between counsel and the parties waived the attorney-client privilege and attorney work product doctrine. This opens the door for the other side to conduct discovery into such a joint strategy. This danger can be mitigated through a common interest agreement (also called a joint defense agreement).
This presentation will discuss the ins and outs of these agreements and some of the advantages and dangers of entering into them. By looking at the state of the law in various jurisdictions, lawyers will have a better idea of how to develop a strong joint strategy without compromising their clients’ best interests.
Please note: This program is approved for General credit in Virginia.
Learning Objectives:
- Identify the important terms and concepts in common interest agreements and the differences among the different jurisdictions
- Review different circumstances in which a common interest privilege agreement might be useful
- Understand the duties an attorney might have to third parties in common interest cases
- Consider what happens when a common interest falls apart
Credit Information
Faculty
Jesse Binnall
Harvey & Binnall, PLLC
Jesse R. Binnall is a partner at Harvey & Binnall, PLLC. He has tried cases in state and federal courts in various jurisdictions throughout the United States. Mr. Binnall’s practice focuses on civil litigation, white collar criminal defense, internal investigations, international disputes, business and non-profit law, appellate litigation, election law, virtual currencies (i.e. Bitcoin), parliamentary law and procedure, and alternative dispute resolution (i.e. arbitration and mediation). He also is proud to help companies develop innovative legal strategies to combat overregulation and government cyber-snooping. Many of Mr. Binnall’s clients use his knowledge to take active steps to avoid the courtroom entirely. He advises entrepreneurs on business formation, contractors on complex construction negotiations, and political candidates and committees on election law matters. He also is proud of his accomplishments working as a productive and collaborative member of civil and criminal joint defense teams.
Mr. Binnall has been a featured guest, discussing law and technology issues, on various new and traditional media outlets, including the Huffington Post, the New York Times, Wired, Forbes, DemocracyNow, the Ron Paul Channel, and Lawyer2Laywer. He has been selected as a “Rising Star” by Super Lawyers. Only 2% of Virginia lawyers are selected to receive this honor. He is also rated as “Excellent” by Avvo.com.
Before starting his career as an attorney, Mr. Binnall was a professional parliamentarian and public relations consultant. He continues to advise organizations large and small on meeting procedure (including Robert’s Rules of Order), bylaw drafting and interpretation, and other parliamentary matters. Mr. Binnall is an avid private pilot. He also enjoys sailing, and SCUBA diving.
Reviews
Excellent presentation of complex area of law.
Very thorough. Very knowledgeable lecturer.
Thank you.
Excellent presentation, with very practical and useful material.
I appreciated the state by state details, particularly for California
very informative - thank you!
good for any potential conflict area
Great info never consider the need for these types of agreements and how it could hurt my client if we did not have them. I always just talked to other other party who shared a common interest especially in criminal cases.
A solid primer, presented succinctly and well.
Good pointers on particular subject
Excellent course!
It was a great course.
Great presentation!
Good overview and notes for certain of the state-specific issues
Great presenter. Well-informed.
From the perspective of a former DOJ criminal prosecutor - LL may want to consider expanding this offering greatly. G
Very inofrmative presentation. Thank you.
Very timely in light of the Mueller investigation.
Thank you!
very good