Kutak Rock Partner Gilbert Boyce authored an article, “The Attorney-Client Privilege and Work-Product Doctrine in Internal Investigations: Avoiding a Common Pitfall,” in the Winter 2015 issue of The Commercial Law Connection, a publication by The National Bar Association Commercial Law Section.

The article addresses the potential loss of the attorney/client privilege and/or work product protection in cases where an internal investigation is conducted for business or a combination of business/legal purposes. The article analyzes the cases of United States ex rel. Barko v. Halliburton Co. and United States v. ISS Marine Services. The article suggests practice tips to document that an internal investigation is being conducted for the purpose of obtaining legal advice, and not for a business purpose; including that legal counsel should direct and supervise all elements of the internal investigation.

Boyce is a partner in the firm’s Washington, DC office and represents clients in a wide spectrum of complex regulatory and litigation matters. He regularly represents clients before the Securities and Exchange Commission, FINRA and Internal Revenue Service. Boyce has extensive experience advising corporate counsel concerning loss prevention and conducting internal investigations. He was previously employed at the Internal Revenue Service, where he worked on a variety of civil and criminal tax cases.