Introduction

Across the United States (U.S.) jurisdictions, attorney-client privilege broadly protects communications between lawyer and client. This privilege protection extends to a wide array of circumstances, ranging from intra-corporate discussions to discussions involving agents of counsel. While some other common law jurisdictions, such as Israel, have similarly broad attorney-client privilege, internationally many jurisdictions’ rules provide significantly narrower protections. The many differences in the scope and mechanisms of attorney-client privilege across jurisdictions internationally require attorneys representing multi-national clients to take special precautions.

In today’s era of widespread transnational business, investigations, and disputes, it is important for counsel and clients to understand the contours of attorney-client privilege across borders. This article provides a brief overview of the basic attorney-client privilege principles in the U.S., Israel, and the Netherlands to serve as a starting point for understanding the core differences between the legal privilege schemes.
Continue Reading Attorney-Client Privilege: Overview of United States, Israeli, and Dutch Rules

Parties involved in Israeli or other non-U.S. court or arbitration proceedings involving persons or companies based in the U.S. may not be aware of their ability in certain cases to obtain discovery from those persons or companies under the broad U.S. discovery procedures.

In 2004, the United States Supreme Court’s landmark case Intel Corp. v. Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.1 made it easier for parties in foreign disputes to obtain documentary and testimonial evidence from U.S. persons and companies using U.S. discovery mechanisms, pursuant to the judicial assistance provisions in 28 U.S.C. §1782.  As the United States permits more extensive pretrial discovery than many other countries, the international discovery available under section 1782 has become an increasingly important tool for foreign parties engaged in disputes worldwide.
Continue Reading Recent Developments in Availability of U.S. Discovery in International Disputes