A privilege log is a document that describes documents or other items withheld from production in a
civil lawsuit
-
A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil actio ...
under a claim that the documents are "
privileged" from disclosure due to the
attorney–client privilege
Attorney–client privilege or lawyer–client privilege is the name given to the common law concept of legal professional privilege in the United States. Attorney–client privilege is " client's right to refuse to disclose and to prevent any ...
,
work product doctrine
In American civil procedure, the work-product doctrine protects materials prepared in anticipation of litigation from discovery by opposing counsel. It is also known as the work-product rule, the work-product immunity, the work-product exceptio ...
, joint defense doctrine, or some other privilege. Rule 26(b)(5)(A) of the
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (officially abbreviated Fed. R. Civ. P.; colloquially FRCP) govern civil procedure in United States district courts. The FRCP are promulgated by the United States Supreme Court pursuant to the Rules Enabling ...
requires that a party who withholds information on grounds of privilege must (i) expressly make the claim; and (ii) describe the nature of the documents, communications, or tangible things not produced or disclosed—and do so in a manner that, without revealing information itself privileged or protected, will enable other parties to assess the claim. A party withholding privileged documents from discovery complies with Rule 26(b)(5)(A) by producing a log containing the following information for each withheld document: the date, type of document, author(s), recipient(s), general subject-matter of the document, and the privilege being claimed (e.g., attorney-client). A production log or similar document may explain where documents on the privilege log were found, identify lawyers on the log, or provide other information.
Whenever a claim of privilege is made, the person making the claim has the burden of showing that the privilege applies. Therefore, it is generally the withholding party's burden to provide sufficient information on its privilege log to allow the opposing party to assess the claim of privilege, inquire further, or seek ''
in camera
''In camera'' (; Latin: "in a chamber"). is a legal term that means ''in private''. The same meaning is sometimes expressed in the English equivalent: ''in chambers''. Generally, ''in-camera'' describes court cases, parts of it, or process wh ...
'' review of the withheld documents or other
Court
A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance ...
involvement, if necessary.
Legal documents
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