USA Law and Practice Contributed by: Courtney Scobie, Jack Edwards and Andrea Whitley, Ajamie LLP
Work product protection applies to documents and materials prepared by an attorney or their agents in anticipation of litigation or in prepara- tion for trial. This protection is designed to safe- guard an attorney’s mental impressions, legal strategies, and trial preparation materials. Work product protection has two tiers. The “ordinary work product” (routine documents) is afford- ed qualified protection, whereas the “opinion work product” or “core work product” (materi- als reflecting an attorney’s mental impressions) is given greater protection. In-house counsel’s work product, like that of external counsel, is entitled to protection if created in anticipation of litigation. 5.6 Rules Disallowing Disclosure of a Document There are other rules and legal doctrines that may allow a party to withhold or limit dissemi- nation of information in a federal lawsuit. These include trade secrets, national security and state secrets, confidential settlement agreements, grand jury documents, and statutory protections concerning medical, financial, and educational records. 6. Injunctive Relief 6.1 Circumstances of Injunctive Relief Injunctive relief may be awarded when a court determines that it is necessary to prevent irrepa- rable harm, maintain the status quo, or enforce legal rights, as follows. • Temporary restraining order (TRO) – a TRO is an emergency measure issued when immedi- ate action is necessary to prevent irreparable harm. TROs are granted at the beginning of a case (often before the defendant is even
served) and typically last for a short duration (often no more than 14 days). • Preliminary injunction – a preliminary injunc- tion is a temporary measure issued before a case goes to trial. It is often sought to main- tain the status quo during the lawsuit and prevent immediate harm. • Permanent injunction – a permanent injunc- tion is issued after a trial on the merits. It is intended to provide a permanent remedy to the prevailing party and to prevent future harm. TROs and preliminary injunctions are often issued to prevent a party from disposing of or transferring assets during the course of litigation. They are often used when there is a concern that a party might attempt to dispose of assets to avoid a judgment. Injunctions may also be used to prevent parallel proceedings from moving forward in other juris- dictions. By way of example, an anti-suit injunc- tion prevents a party from filing or continuing to prosecute a parallel lawsuit outside the USA. If an anti-suit injunction has already been issued against a party by a court outside the USA, that party may seek an anti anti-suit injunction – a rare sub-species of anti-suit injunction – in the USA. Although a US court has no jurisdiction over the other court, it does have jurisdiction over the parties before it and can order a party to not continue proceedings in another court. Parties seeking injunctive relief may need to post a bond to cover any damages that may result from the injunction. 6.2 Arrangements for Obtaining Urgent Injunctive Relief Injunctive relief can be obtained quickly, espe- cially when circumstances are urgent. The pro-
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