Old records can be open to subpoena

Trial Notebook

By Steven P. Garmisa

Hoey & Farina

Posted January 3, 2020 3:07 PM

If your former client’s new attorney subpoenas your entire file, are you entitled to claim work-product privilege for any of the contents?Maybe. It depends. Reversing a Cook County judge who quashed a subpoena that demanded an assistant public defender’s entire file in a murder case, the Illinois Appellate Court provided guidance on what items might qualify for work-product privilege against a former client.While an attorney can’t claim work-product privilege against a former client when their interests …

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