New rule curbs inadvertent waivers
"A recent law that amends the Federal Rules of Evidence will significantly limit the circumstances under which attorney-client privilege is waived during discovery, legal experts say.
While practitioners are split on the impact new Rule 502 will have on litigation, they agree that it will clarify the risks associated with privilege reviews of vast numbers of electronically stored information, or ESI.
Rule 502 is “absolutely a critical rule,” said U.S. Chief Magistrate Judge Paul W. Grimm in Baltimore. it will protect against waivers of privilege based on inadvertent disclosures and cut litigation costs — by as much as 75 percent in cases involving a lot of ESI, he estimated."
