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Court Orders Opening of Pandora's Box

Client Alert | 1 min read | 03.12.14

In U.S. ex rel. Barko v. Halliburton Co. (D.D.C. Mar. 6, 2014), the court ordered the defendants in a qui tam FCA case to produce internal reports and other documents that were prepared during the course of internal investigations initiated in response to "tips" regarding potential misconduct, even when the tips were made directly to the defendants' Law Department, the reports were transmitted to the Law Department, and the investigations were initiated and managed by senior in-house attorneys. The court concluded that the materials were not protected by the attorney-client privilege because the investigations were "undertaken pursuant to regulatory law and corporate policy"— i.e., the contract clause required by the FAR Mandatory Disclosure rules, which set forth requirements for a contractor's code of business ethics and conduct, compliance program, and internal controls system—"rather than for the purpose of obtaining legal advice," and that they were not protected by the work product doctrine because they were not prepared in anticipation of litigation.


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Client Alert | 6 min read | 03.26.24

California Office of Health Care Affordability Notice Requirement for Material Change Transactions Closing on or After April 1, 2024

Starting next week, on April 1st, health care entities in California closing “material change transactions” will be required to notify California’s new Office of Health Care Affordability (“OHCA”) and potentially undergo an extensive review process prior to closing. The new review process will impact a broad range of providers, payers, delivery systems, and pharmacy benefit managers with either a current California footprint or a plan to expand into the California market. While health care service plans in California are already subject to an extensive transaction approval process by the Department of Managed Health Care, other health care entities in California have not been required to file notices of transactions historically, and so the notice requirement will have a significant impact on how health care entities need to structure and close deals in California, and the timing on which closing is permitted to occur....