Also known as: works · worked · working · labor · employment
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
Tangible material or its intangible equivalent prepared in anticipation of litigation or for trial that applicable law shields from discovery.
Wallace Webb, a corporate in-house counsel, directed employees to prepare memos analyzing potential contract claims after a supplier dispute arose. When the opposing party sought those memos in discovery, the court applied the work-product protection because the materials were created in anticipation of litigation.
Winter Wolfe, an employee at a state agency, prepared an internal analysis of a permitting dispute at her supervisor's request after litigation became likely. When the opposing party sought the analysis in discovery, the court applied the work-product protection because the material was created in anticipation of litigation.
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Woodridge Manufacturing directed staff to prepare a repair log after a loading-dock incident made litigation foreseeable. When the visitor sought the log in discovery, the court applied the work-product protection because the material was created in anticipation of litigation.
Wesley Wong, a mid-level engineer at Wolverine Steel, prepared emails describing production defects at his supervisor's direction once litigation appeared likely. When a plaintiff sought those emails, the court applied the work-product protection because the materials were created in anticipation of suit.
Watershed Pharmaceuticals prepared a quality-control memo after learning of possible product claims and anticipating suit. When a buyer sought the memo in discovery, the court applied the work-product protection because the material was created in anticipation of litigation.
Winona Walsh prepared notes documenting her child's special needs after a divorce filing made litigation foreseeable. When her spouse sought the notes in discovery, the court applied the work-product protection because the materials were created in anticipation of litigation.
Tangible material or its intangible equivalent prepared in anticipation of litigation or for trial receives the protection. The protection applies even if the material was not prepared by an attorney, provided it meets the anticipation-of-litigation standard.
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Yes. The protection extends to any tangible material or its intangible equivalent prepared in anticipation of litigation or for trial, regardless of who prepared it, so long as the anticipation-of-litigation standard is met.
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Work-product protection applies when the material, such as a post-incident repair log, is prepared in anticipation of litigation or for trial, even if the underlying facts involve an independent contractor's completed work.
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…that right directly. Indeed, it is difficult to imagine a more complete abridgment of a constitutional freedom than that worked by the inflexible criminal statute now in force in Texas. The question then becomes whether the state interests advanced to justify this abridgment can survive the "particularly careful…