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A ruling issued by the North Carolina Business Court last month could have a significant impact on the ability of North Carolina companies and counsel to assert the attorney-client privilege over communications exchanged in the course of internal investigations.
In
Buckley LLP v. Series 1 of Oxford Insurance Company NC LLC, 19 CVS 21128 (N.C. Super. Ct. Mecklenburg County), the court ruled on cross motions to compel in an insurance coverage dispute. There were two issues before the court. The first issue concerned whether communications between the plaintiff law firm, Buckley LLP, and its outside law firm, Latham & Watkins LLP, concerning an investigation into alleged misconduct by a former Buckley partner were protected from disclosure by the attorney-client privilege or work product doctrine. The second issue before the court was whether defendant Oxford Insurance Company’s internal communications with its in-house