Confidentiality, Privilege, and other Ethics Issues after the Merger: What to Do When You're in Post-Acquisition Dispute Litigation

Mergers, acquisitions, and asset sales raise a number of ethical issues, including who controls the confidentiality and privilege after the deal closes. These questions become that much more important when the buyer and seller are embroiled in litigation after the deal, at which time shared confidentiality and privileges and use of such information as evidence can pose complicated and expensive challenges for all parties involved. On top of these considerations, lawyers must abide by additional rules concerning, for example, loyalty to clients.

Topics that Foley & Lardner attorneys Michael Thompson and Jasmine Coo will cover include:

• Legal and ethical authorities concerning attorneys’ confidentiality, privilege, and other ethical obligations, including ABA Model Rules 1.6 (Confidentiality of Information), 1.9 (Duties to Former Clients), 2.1 (Advisor), 3.7 (Lawyer as Witness), and ABA Informal Op. 857 (Attorney as Witness).
• Discussion of such issues as they arise in post-acquisition litigation and what you can do, both before the closing and after, to address them.