Deputy AG Mark Filip
On Thursday, the DOJ released new internal guidelines that formally bar prosecutors from pressuring companies and individuals under investigation to waive the attorney-client privilege. According to the WSJ, the new guidelines – announced by Deputy Attorney General Mark Filip at a news conference at the New York Stock Exchange – were intended to address criticism of the DOJ for tactics including “pushing companies to share information normally protected by attorney-client privilege, or pressuring companies to stop paying the legal fees of employees under federal investigation.”
The WSJ reports that among the specific modifications in the guidelines are restrictions preventing prosecutors, when evaluating a company’s cooperation, from considering whether a company is paying legal fees of employees under investigation, or whether a company has entered into joint defense agreements with employees.
