Ride the Lightning

FINALLY – RULE 502 PASSED BY HOUSE

September 12, 2008

Things don’t exactly move fast in Congress. It was a relief to those in the electronic evidence world that the House of Representative passed Rule 502 (S. 2450) on September 8th. As the House version is identical to the version approved in the Senate by unanimous consent on February 27th (again, what took so long?), it now awaits the President’s signature, expected in the next few weeks.

The bill protects against inadvertent waiver of the attorney-client privilege and work product production. It was approved by the Judicial Conference of the United States and sent to Congress in September 2007. It will take effect for all new proceedings after the date of enactment, and, insofar as is just and practicable, in all proceedings pending on that date.

With the consent of the Judicial Conference, Congress added more text to the explanatory note which accompanies the rule.

Make sure you read the rule carefully because it’s not a “home free” rule. The attorney needs to take reasonable steps to prevent inadvertent disclosure and take reasonable and timely steps to rectify any such disclosure. Failure to do so has already burned several attorneys, so a careful reading of the bill is in order!

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