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Applicability of Privilege to Internal Investigations Upheld, Again

Client Alert | 1 min read | 08.12.15

In a decision preserving the strength of the attorney-client privilege, the D.C. Circuit in U.S. ex rel. Barko v. Halliburton once again vacated an order from the district court requiring KBR to produce attorney-client privileged documents created during an internal investigation. Specifically,  the D.C. Circuit granted mandamus based on the "clear and indisputable error" in the findings that (1) KBR had waived  the privilege under Rule 612 by allowing a non-lawyer, Rule 30(b)(6) witness to review the investigation  report during deposition preparation; and (2) KBR had put the investigation report into issue by mentioning the company's "investigative mechanism" in a motion for summary judgment.


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Client Alert | 2 min read | 12.19.25

GAO Cautions Agencies—Over-Redact at Your Own Peril

Bid protest practitioners in recent years have witnessed agencies’ increasing efforts to limit the production of documents and information in response to Government Accountability Office (GAO) bid protests—often will little pushback from GAO. This practice has underscored the notable difference in the scope of bid protest records before GAO versus the Court of Federal Claims. However, in Tiger Natural Gas, Inc., B-423744, Dec. 10, 2025, 2025 CPD ¶ __, GAO made clear that there are limits to the scope of redactions, and GAO will sustain a protest where there is insufficient evidence that the agency’s actions were reasonable....